A series of events are being held to thank all the volunteer groups who contributed a substantial number of hours over the visitor season.
The National Park Authority were involved with three different groups of volunteers this year; the Caru Eryri Volunteer Partnership, the Yr Wyddfa Volunteer Wardens and for the first time a new group of Volunteer Wardens were also present in the south of the National Park at Cader Idris.
The Caru Eryri scheme is a partnership volunteer programme between the Snowdonia Society, the Snowdonia National Park Authority, the National Trust and the Outdoor Partnership. The group was initially set up in 2021 to provide assistance during the high season for warden services, and also to clear litter and provide information to visitors as well as other tasks.
A total of 437.5 bags of litter was collected from this group alone over the season from honeypot sites such as Yr Wyddfa and Ogwen but also expanded this year to cover other areas such as Llyn Tegid and Abergwyngregyn. Adding this to last year’s totals means the amount of rubbish collected by the group surpassed 2 tonnes in weight.
This year’s Caru Eryri programme will culminate at Bethesda Rugby Club on the 28th of October at a special evening where bespoke awards will be presented to the most active volunteers by Snowdonia National Park Authority’s CEO Emyr Williams.
This year a Volunteer Warden group was set up in the south of the National Park in response to an increasing number of visitors to the Cader Idris area during the high season. The programme was a great success as volunteers provided a personal touch to welcome people to the mountain by patrolling the footpaths and offering friendly advice and information whilst also assisting with litter picking and monitoring any other issues and reporting back to the National Park Wardens.
The Yr Wyddfa Volunteer Wardens also returned this year full of their usual enthusiasm and the 36-strong team have contributed over 1400 hours this season already. Established in its current form back in 2014 the group is co-ordinated by the Yr Wyddfa warden team and provides an important service on Wales’ busiest mountain.
Cllr Annwen Hughes, Snowdonia National Park Authority Chair said:
“The service our volunteer groups provide here in Snowdonia is priceless. From litter picking on some of our busiest trails to providing visitors with vital information about the National Park, we can’t thank them enough for what they offer our local communities and visitors. Their local knowledge and dedication is invaluable in assisting the Authority to promote and protect the National Park. I would like to thank them all personally for their hard work over the past months to look after Snowdonia’s fragile landscapes”.
Etta Trumper, Snowdonia National Park Authority’s Volunteering and Wellbeing Officer said:
“Volunteering is a fantastic way to meet new friends and to learn new skills whilst working in some of the most beautiful parts of Wales. The National Park Authority provides different volunteering opportunities all year round where you can work alongside other experienced volunteers. We are extremely grateful for all the hours our volunteer groups contributed this year and are already looking forward to seeing them all back and more next year!”