The mountains, valleys and coastline of Wales attract valuable tourism – not only are they stunningly beautiful but they are integral to Welsh history, heritage and cultural identity, having supported Welsh livelihoods for centuries.   From the simple tradition of eating what we can harvest from the sea, the land or hillsides (where growing is difficult but sheep thrive), bara brith, laverbread, cawl, Welsh cakes and a variety of cheeses now have worldwide fame.  Welsh products from woollen shawls to slate tiles to gold rings are celebrated as distinctive and unique.

Welsh coal fuelled the industrial revolution, and the proximity of coal to water invited metal smelting industries that helped build the economies of other parts of Britain.  But one of the oldest examples of renewable energy is right here on Gower.  Parkmill has been used as a power source for 7 centuries.  Harvesting wind, sunshine and tidal power here could keep energy production at the heart of a thriving Welsh economy. 

“…just as Wales played a leading role in the first industrial revolution, I believe Wales can provide an example to others of what it means to achieve environmental growth.” (Lesley Griffiths AM, declaring Climate Emergency on April 29^th 2019)

Great strides have been made in re-establishing the Welsh language, with a target of a million Welsh speakers by 2050 and the cohort of most concentrated bilinguals being under-25s.  We support projects that encourage and support Welsh learners (for whom informal spoken conversation is more important than literacy)and that show how we can celebrate Welsh culture and heritage through our pursuit of a green economy.