Senedd protest against new Cosmeston water park
Protesters gathered outside the Senedd to voice opposition to a new water park, raising concerns about water quality and the impact on local wildlife.Almost 100 people took part in the demonstration in Cardiff Bay against the attraction at Cosmeston Country Park in the Vale of Glamorgan, which is due to open on 5 July."Some of the children that I work with are devastated that those in authority are taking from our wild spaces, with no regard for the damage that they might be doing," said Angela Peterken, an educator who took part in the protest.The attraction had been based in Cardiff Bay for the last five years and includes an inflatable assault course with slides and climbing frames.
More than 7,000 people have signed a petition against the new water park.Cosmeston Country Park opened to the public in 1978 and has been an official nature reserve since 2013.It is a haven for local wildlife and some areas have been designated a site of special scientific interest.Saar Lenaerts, from Barry, who organised the protest, said there were concerns about wildlife and safety."We have some serious concerns about water quality as well," she said.Vale of Glamorgan council said it has worked with a number of agencies to ensure the lake is safe when the water park opens.The attraction was moved because water quality concerns left it "unable to operate" at the bay.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Devon rescue centre finally finds friend for lonely orphaned owl
A lonely owlet rescued by a wildlife centre in Devon has finally found a friend. Moorlands Wildlife Centre said the tawny owl, named Gizmo, was found orphaned in Branscombe Woods and taken to the rescue centre via Sidmouth Vets on the 28 was becoming lonely and too used to human interaction, so the centre put a call out to the Devon Wildlife Rescue group, vets and the Barn Owl Trust in Ashburton to find an owl of a similar age to pair her with. Tony Bennet, from Moorlands Wildlife Centre, said they managed to pair Gizmo with a fellow orphaned tawny owl named Grommit which was found abandoned on a road in Exmouth. Mr Bennet said the small bird looked like a "fluffy toy" when it arrived at the rescue centre and was progressing nicely under their care."We fed her and looked after her very carefully," he said."She didn't have to be enclosed much as she wasn't very mobile but within a week's time, she had almost doubled in size."They do bond very quickly with humans and they begin to think they are humans, or they will go to humans for food and won't bother looking for food."Whereas if they are with another owl, they will behave as if they are in the wild."When we just had Gizmo, for company, we put a mirror in her cage and she used to sit and talk to the mirror, like a parrot, but obviously she wasn't getting a lot of feedback, so she is behaving a lot more naturally now." 'They make a cute little couple of owlets' Mr Bennet said introducing the pair could have "easily gone wrong" but they took to one another straight away."They make a cute little couple of owlets," he said. It is hoped the owls will be released together from the Moorlands Wildlife Centre in September if they can raise money to build a bigger enclosure. He said: "We will be putting out food for them on a regular basis until they can learn how to forage themselves in the wild and hopefully add to the local population of tawny owls." The centre, which is run solely by Mr Bennet and his wife Claire, officially opened in December 2024 and has helped about 200 wild animals including hedgehogs, beavers, fox cubs and birds."As an organisation we don't have any animals that are not able to be released back into the wild, we are not a zoo or a visitor centre," he said.
Daily Mail
12 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Dirty dishes in the sink? Almost a quarter of Gen Z say they let their plates and cutlery marinate for THREE DAYS before cleaning them
It will do nothing for their reputation as the most entitled, coddled and lazy age group – but a survey now suggests Generation Z are the worst for leaving dirty dishes festering in the sink. Almost a quarter (22 per cent) of those aged 16 to 26 said they leave the washing-up piling up for three nights before taking action. That compares with just 13 per cent of millennials aged 27 to 42 who said they leave dirty dishes that long, 9 per cent of Generation X (43 to 58) and just 3 per cent of Baby Boomers, aged 59 and over. Men are twice as likely to let the dishes fester, with 13 per cent leaving them for three nights compared with just 7 per cent of women. Across the board, 40 per cent of people do the dishes straight away, whereas a squalid one in 100 will leave them for a week or more. Geographically, Sheffield residents are the worst at washing-up, with 43 per cent saying they leave dishes overnight, followed by Plymouth (41 per cent), Cardiff, (37 per cent) and Leeds and Birmingham (36 per cent each). Cleaning brand Astonish surveyed 2,001 adults for the poll. Spokesman Nick Moss said: 'Leaving dirty dishes in the sink overnight isn't ideal – it can be unhygienic. 'But a third of people don't seem to have any qualms about it. 'Less than half do them straight away, which is surprisingly low.' The poll also found that a third of people cleaned under the sofa just once a month or less.
The Guardian
a day ago
- The Guardian
Young country diary: An explosion of emerald butterflies
It was late morning, and my family and I were walking along the coast of south Devon. The sun blazed in the clear sky, and a green carpet of grass was interspersed with violets, bluebells and sea campions. Seals basked in the morning sunshine below us and the occasional bloody-nosed beetle lumbered across the path. It wasn't long before we got our first glimpse of a green hairstreak butterfly. It had emerald wings and black and white antennae. It was so delicate, it looked as if it was made of porcelain. My mum said it was a rare sight, as she had only ever seen three before in her life and although they're widespread across Britain, they're hard to spot. Unfortunately, their population is declining, partly due to habitat loss. But further on, we saw another, its wings glinting in the sunlight and the flower it was perched on nodding gently in the breeze. We continued to see the green wonders darting about, occasionally settling on a clump of prickly gorse. By the end of the walk, my legs were burning from the steep ascent, and we had encountered perhaps about 50 of them. My mum said we probably wouldn't see anything like it again. They must have just hatched, because there were so many, and there was a lot of gorse around, which is one of their caterpillar food-plants. I wonder if, when we go back next year, we'll find some more of those magical creatures. Read today's other YCD, by Issy, 11: 'Looking into the big eyes of a brown hare' To submit an article for consideration in Young Country Diary, please fill out the form here (or, if that does not work, as has been the case recently, try the form here). The deadline for submissions is Monday 30 June
