Country Focus

The Wales Real Food and Farming Conference that gets underway this week at Llysfasi in Ruthin - sure to cause a buzz is a discussion on the Welsh Dark Honeybee and its role in sustainable food production.

We hear how the historic ban on use of snares and glue traps which came into force this week will be policed in rural Wales.

We meet the lichenologist transplanting rare lichen back into the countryside to save some of our most endangered species of the complex lifeform

And the observatory in Powys that hopes to spot dangerous, new asteroids - if they fix the telescope!

We're dancing at the edges of Wales this week with a look at nature conservation efforts on the coastal slopes around the country to protect and build healthy resilient ecosystems and communities, for now and future generations. Huw Jenkins takes a waltz around the coast of Wales and hears how conservation organisations have been sharing their knowledge to promote best practice in sustainable coastal fringe management.

Applications for the new Habitat Wales Scheme have opened but farmers call for a "funding rethink" and support with their food, farming and the environment ambitions

A fourth National Park for Wales? People are being encouraged to have their say on the proposal for one in the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley area.

Nature loss on a "devastating scale" - the State of Nature report finds of almost 3900 different animals, plants and fungi studied, one in six are at risk of extinction now from Wales.

Pondweed - unlocking the ecological secrets of 2 rare aquatic plants on the Montgomery Canal as stretches are dredged to improve water quality.

and it's time to get voting for a sweet, Sweet Chestnut in Wrexham!

Farmers welcome new rules on the movement of TB restricted cattle and we visit a dairy farm in Pembrokeshire that's taking part in a new pilot project finding new ways of tackling the disease.

We hear how "leaky dams" on the River Teme to manage the flow of water to prevent floods over in Shropshire can also be beneficial to farmers upstream in Wales.

A Radnorshire farmer takes time out from the harvest to highlight the beauty of the mountain blackbird - the Ring Ouzel

.....and the orchard trials in Machynlleth to grow to pears for both Perry and eating, with a little help from Willow!

Fed up with high sewerage discharges into their local river the Garw WI organise a walk to show their disgust! We speak to Dwr Cymru Welsh Water about the sewage being dumped in the River Garw.

Green prescribing - could it save the NHS millions of pounds? The Wildlife Trusts certainly think so - we join a guided walk with Gwent Wildlife Trust and ask a GP if they would prescribe a dose of nature?!

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the iconic fashion brand - Laura Ashley. Her designs travelled the world, but many were created in rural mid-Wales.

How bird flu is decimating Wales' gannet population on Grassholm island off the coast of Pembrokeshire.

Calls for tougher penalties for dog owners after 46 ewes in a "horrifying attack" on a farm near Wrexham

Could you have the next Japanese Knotweed or Himalayan Balsam growing in your garden? We speak to a PhD student about his work identifying ornamental garden plants with an invasive potential.

We meet the former Red Arrows engineer in his first year as warden for Flat Holm island, off the coast of Cardiff.

And we meet the two musicians finding new ways of connecting post covid and promoting their album as they walk the Wales Coast Path

Shearing season is upon us but with the price of wool in decline in recent years, the challenge is to find a sustainable use for this natural product. This week, on Country Focus look at Gwnaed a Gwlan - the Made with Wool project, which is finding innovative ways of using Welsh wool and discovering it's potential to revitalise the rural economy. It all starts with the raw product and Caroline Evans first meets with the Williams family at Parlla Isaf Farm in Rhoslefain, in Gwynedd. From there it's on to the Wool Testing Authority in Caernarfon, which is offering farmers the chance to get their wool tested and the potential it has. Finally we discover some of the innovative uses being developed at Bangor University BioComposites Centre. Menter Môn is calling on farmers to get involved!

Set in the very heart of Wales, Rhayader was once a stop off for drover's on their way from Aberystwyth to London. Today, it acts as a busy crossroad between east and west , the north and south - but given it's scenic location at one end of the Elan Valley and set in the Cambrian mountains, could this historic market town be the Outdoors Capital of Wales? Caroline Evans visits the town and hears how the community is boldly and proudly rebranding Rhayader as a flourishing and unique place to live, to do business and to visit.

The Penllyn Estate near Cowbridge in the Vale of Glamorgan is home to a diverse range of businesses, but agriculture remains at its core. Farmed by Homfray family since 1846, back in 2020 they were set to welcome their first customers to their new venture - the Forage Farm Shop & Kitchen. Of course, 2020 is the year the Covid pandemic struck but three years on and they've developed from scratch, an award winning business ( in the 2022, the Farm Shop & Deli Retailer Awards) with local and sustainable produce very much at it's heart.

A consultation on the whether to keep the Wales Air Ambulance helicopter, pilot and paramedic crew flying out of Welshpool is underway - we hear from the campaigners and the Commissioner reviewing the service. Domestic abuse in rural areas can be compounded by a lack of local services and a sense of isolation. We hear one woman's experience and from the Women's Institute highlighting the issue. And our bird of the month is the Shelduck which has taken a liking to the mudflats of the Dee estuary.