With two months to go until the 2024 National Urdd Eisteddfod, a group of local children have celebrated the Eisteddfod coming to Montgomeryshire by planting 40 trees at the festival site on Wednesday, 27 March 2024.
Rather than a traditional turf-cutting event, a tree planting ceremony was held to mark the beginning of preparations at this year’s Urdd Eisteddfod field and celebrate a new partnership between Urdd Gobaith Cymru and Coed Cadw (the Woodland Trust), the UK’s largest woodland conservation charity.
The trees planted by the local children are native to the area and were gifted by the Woodland Trust. The charity is also sponsoring the Urdd Eisteddfod’s “Arddorfa”, a wild garden that is now part of the festival site.
Llio Maddocks, Director of the Urdd Eisteddfod, said: “We are looking forward to visiting Montgomeryshire for the first time since 1988 and our volunteers and members are busy preparing to welcome everyone to the area.
“Securing a legacy once the Eisteddfod has been held is an important part of the festival’s vision, and so planting trees along the festival’s boundary is symbolic of that. We are extremely grateful to Coed Cadw for sponsoring this year’s Arddorfa and in doing so, helping us inspire Welsh youth to engage with their cultural roots while fostering a deep appreciation for the natural world.”
As part of the collaboration, the Urdd Eisteddfod and Coed Cadw have also launched two competitions to encourage primary age children to engage with nature and learn about the native trees that surround them daily, whether that is in their garden or in their local park.
“We are delighted to be working with the Urdd to provide an exciting opportunity for children to take part in our competitions,” said Llinos Humphreys, Communications and Engagement Manager, Woodland Trust, Wales. “Our hope is to get children engaged with the outside world, use their skills to explore nature and benefit from a wide variety of learning opportunities linked to the Curriculum for Wales.
“The two competitions are ‘Woodland Words and Images Challenge’ and ‘Explore Different Viewpoints’ and both will be judged by our Woodland and Trees panel including our young volunteer Tammie Esslemont, and the winners will be announced in the Arddorfa during the Urdd Eisteddfod.”
The closing date for both competitions is April 30 and more information can be found here.
The 2024 National Urdd Eisteddfod takes place between 27 May and 1 June. This will be the first time since 1988 for the Urdd Eisteddfod to visit the area and the youth festival will be based on the fields of Mathrafal Farm, near Meifod.
