LATEST NEWS
FROM GREENWOOD FOREST PARK

Face Painting Fun at GreenWood
Ruby Thomas was among the visitors at GreenWood Forest Park this week determined to make the most of the last days of the summer holidays. The 5 year old from Conwy visited with her grandparents and was given a fierce new look by Face Painter Lisa.

GREEN FINGERS
Andrea Bristow from Llansadwrn was given a package of watermelon seeds by her friend Eva, who had worked in Gran Canaria for five years.

In the spring she sowed them in seed trays and planted them out in four different places: the greenhouse, an old compost heap, the new compost heap and the herbaceous border. The two in the greenhouse started invading all of husband Steve’s space straight away, but soon the leaves looked yellow. The two in the herbaceous border disappeared though lack of nutrition. The two on the old compost heap survived, but the two on the new compost heap just grew and grew and grew.

‘It is like Jack and the Beanstalk, only with watermelons on the ground. Absolutely unbelievable. They seem to grow about a foot a day and are taking over a large area of the lawn. There are already six huge watermelons and many little ones’, says Andrea.

Maybe the combination of the hot June, constant rain in August and the permanent heat source of the rotting lawnmowing cuttings created just the right conditions.

Who knows, or is it green fingers?

1,200 YEARS OF WELSH POETRY SET IN STONE AT GREENWOOD FOREST PARK
Minister for Heritage and Culture, Alun Ffred Jones, was on hand to cut the green ribbon at the official opening of GreenWood Forest Park’s latest attraction recently.

Cerrig y Cerddi – Poets’ Corner – features 16 huge slabs of slate engraved with verses from some of the best Welsh poetry of the last 1,200 years. The slate was sourced from Penrhyn Quarry in Bethesda, while the poems, on the themes of nature and nationhood, were mostly selected by Myrddin ap Dafydd of Gwasg Carreg Gwalch, who has himself won a Bardic Chair at the National Eisteddfod. The verses were then carefully engraved onto the stones by Maricraft Slate World in Blaenau Ffestiniog.

Guests at the launch enjoyed a reading by Myrddin ap Dafydd, whose poem ‘Tyfu’n un’ is among those engraved at Poets’ Corner, and a performance by Llansadwrn Church Choir. Though a departure from the usual forest fun to be found at GreenWood, this latest attraction is in keeping with the eco-friendly ethos of the Park and will offer visitors a spot of tranquillity away from the rides and activities. Managing Director Stephen Bristow said “I have always loved poetry and I love the sound of these wonderful Welsh poems. The old ones echo through the centuries and the modern ones speak of love and nature in a way that touches us all”.

GREENWOOD WINS GOLD AT WILDLIFE GARDEN AWARDS
Eco-friendly GreenWood Forest Park was delighted to win Gold at the Wildlife Garden Awards this August. The family adventure park came out on top in the Business Garden category of the competition, organised by the North Wales Wildlife Trust.

Since opening in 1993 GreenWood has continued to work towards preserving the biodiversity of the ex-forestry site on which it stands. Over the years 8,000 trees have been planted, and otters, hares and owls are just some of the species to have made it their home. Special plants have been introduced to attract butterflies and a new beehive will soon be taking pride of place in the Exhibition area.

DOUBLE LIFE OF GREENWOOD CLEANER
By day she’s a cleaner at a major tourist attraction, but outside working hours Karen Breeze is better known as an artist.

And though to some it might seem like a double life, Bangor-based Karen insists that her very different jobs have very similar principles.

“I use mainly recycled materials in my work as I find it more environmentally satisfying”, says Karen, who specialises in metalwork. A passion for recycling is something she shares in common with her employer, eco-friendly GreenWood Forest Park, where she works as a cleaner. “I like the ethics of GreenWood, and I think the wildlife is wonderful – how they have managed to include it together with the theme park”.

Birmingham-born Karen was interested in art from a young age, enjoying painting, clay modelling and crafts. After attending courses at Coleg Menai, she decided to specialise in metalwork, and through treating metals in different ways learnt to produce various textures and patterns and even to introduce colours into her work. Her intriguing jewellery work has been exhibited at Gwynedd libraries and the Ucheldre Centre, Holyhead.

Just as it has with GreenWood, wildlife has found its way into Karen’s work too. Her latest pieces combine recycled metals with feathers. “The different effects feathers produce inspires me, as does the challenge of joining these very different materials together in the same piece of work”.

The easiest way to contact Karen is between 12.00pm and 6.30pm, Sunday to Thursday, at GreenWood Forest Park, tel. 01248 671493.

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