Future's Golden for Traditional Skills of Reedbed Ecology

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Byline: By Vicky Moller Western Mail

In the 20th century, the needs of people and nature were often in conflict. It wasn't always so, and during this century a different trend could become apparent, as Vicky Moller reports

DRIVE over the Old Iron Bridge in Newport, Pembrokeshire, and on most clear days you will pass a row of backs. People motionless, watching the vibrant bird life on the estuary mud and reed banks. The birds and their watchers depend on a habitat which is kept healthy thanks to the efforts of one man and his friends.

He is not paid by any wildlife trust but he keeps reedbeds from filling in and changing. He is Alan Jones, a thatcher who harvests the reeds …