Country Focus

How do we create a local food system that is healthy, good for the environment and fair for all? This week we're looking at Food Sense Wales, a network which is forging pioneering food partnerships across our urban and rural communities to develop a more secure and sustainable approach to what we eat. Caroline Evans visits the Dusty Forge Food Pantry and hears how Cardiff is going for gold as a sustainable food place. Then it's on to hear about Slow Cooking in Blaenau Gwent and finally, to Carmarthenshire, where they're at the start of their journey into ensuring that local food reaches the public plate.

The polluted legacy of metal mines in mid wales - a new study fears that lead is having an impact on both wild and farmed animals nearby. A call for farm subsidies rethink over Ukraine war. Stand for Nature - a project to help young people take action for wildlife and the climate in their local areas. And the not for profit, social enterprise in Denbighshire, upcycling old, unwanted bikes and fitting electric motors to second-hand or discarded bicycles.

The Gower Pilgrimage Way is a new, environmentally friendly, 50-mile walking and cycling route celebrating the natural beauty of the peninsula and it's rich heritage of churches. The route, which has been developed by the Church in Wales, links 17 historic churches, which have their roots in the age of the Celtic saints, and continue to serve as places of faith and worship today. Presenter Caroline Evans explores the route between Penclawdd and the ruins of Hermon chapel, round to Rhossili Church.

Protecting our"dwindling" ancient trees - a network of 70 ancient woodlands and 70 ancient trees is being dedicated to the Queen, marking her 70-year reign. The artisan maker celebrating another royal connection. Can we spot a Marsh Fritillary Butterfly on Llantrisant Common. The first ‘Wool Manifesto for Wales’ is launched to promote Welsh wool as a natural and sustainable product. And an appeal for a replacement team to keep the tradition of horse drawn boats on the Montgomeryshire canal.

A community owned seaweed farm off the coast of Pembrokeshire, that's bringing sustainable ocean farming to life. The Mumbles Sea-Hive project researching how we can create an eco-friendlier seawall. Giving Swifts a helping hand in Powys and getting to know life in rural Wales through three women who live and breathe it!

Balancing our food needs with the environment - is it time to have a conversation about our lowland peatlands? Rural carers are few and far between - we speak to one about the dilemmas of being a care worker in Powys. We hear how efforts to help Barn Owls in the Amman Valley in Carmarthenshire, have been hampered by a devastating wildfire. And we hear about the rich culinary traditions of Wales.

The Rural Powerhouse - a multibillion pound blueprint to revitalise the rural economy. The challenge of accessing care in rural Wales, we speak to one woman who fears a shortage of carers in her area could force her into a care home. Green Spaces Dark Skies - an art project which aims to engage people to feel connected to the land, to enjoy it and to protect it and the iconic chapel, Soar y Mynydd, located in the hills near Tregaron, reopens after two years of closure during Covid.

Avian Flu restrictions lifted in Wales but egg farmers struggle in the face of soaring costs of production. We meet the walkers who enjoy notching up the miles as we celebrate long distance trails. And we meet members of the walking group Black Girls Hike, as they explore the coast of the Gower peninsula. No Smoking! - the campaign for smoke-free beaches and the refashioning leather sustainably in Pembrokeshire.

They were once a common sight and their distinctive, evocative calls, a familiar sound, in our coastal, lowland and upland landscapes. However, the numbers of Curlew have declined so rapidly that conservationists are warning that this wading bird could be facing extinction, as a viable breeding species in Wales, by 2033. In the run up to this year's World Curlew Day (Thursday 21st April), Country Focus hears about the efforts to reverse the decline of curlew from our Welsh landscapes.

Calling all woodland owners and forestry managers, the Living Ash project wants your help find those trees that are resisting Ash Dieback Disease. In Ceredigion, we hear about the chicken farm plans dividing a village. Paths to Wellbeing - the £1.2m funded Ramblers Cymru project, inspiring communities to take ownership of their local ‘milltir sgwar’ (square mile) and conserve it for generations to come. How a big yellow van - nicknamed DORIS is reaching out to people in rural areas of Denbighshire to help tackle mental health issues. And we're celebrating Laverbread, as the seaweed gets it's own National Day (April14th)