What Is ‘Tirweddau Cymru Landscapes Wales’? Landscapes For Everyone

There are so many people working hard at system-change in the UK outdoors, but sometimes we don't see the work that happens at Government and governing body level. In this new column, Anna Jones, a long-time member of the All The Elements community, tells us what’s happening behind the scenes at her cross-organisation partnership, Tirweddau Cymru Landscapes Wales.

For the first column, Anna gives us a whistlestop tour of her work. Over the next few months, she will be sharing more details of specific projects, approaches and policies that are making an impact to on-the-ground access in Wales. But first, the background….

Shwmae everyone!

I wanted to introduce myself – I am Anna Jones, and I live in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park – I grew up just south of Birmingham so it’s no surprise that I absolutely love the sea (after being landlocked for so long!) and I love being creative in nature – I particularly love a good folklore story and a sing song! I am so passionate about everyone having access to the outdoors and making their own unique and special connections to nature. I’m the ‘Inclusion, Diversity and Governance Excellence Strategic Lead’ for Tirweddau Cymru Landscapes Wales. What that means in practice is that I am here to support, join up, and drive forward inclusion for Tirweddau Cymru Landscapes Wales across all eight of the ‘Designated Landscapes in Wales’.

Our ‘Landscapes in Wales’ organisations all know that they need to do more to be fully inclusive. We want every single person who comes into contact with our Welsh Designated Landscapes to have a positive experience – to feel that they are included and to feel that they belong. Our diverse communities, and their unique experiences and perspectives, have the most incredible potential to add so much value to our work.

A bit about the partnership

‘Tirweddau Cymru’ is the Welsh translation of ‘Landscapes Wales’ and is pronounced (in very non-technical terms!) as ‘Tear-weth-ay Come-ree’ – and is also known by the acronym TCLW.

TCLW is a partnership founded in 2020 and it’s made up of our most special landscapes in Wales:

Our three National Parks – Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons), Eryri (Snowdonia) and Pembrokeshire Coast (Arfordir Penfro).
Our five National Landscapes (which were previously known as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, or AONBs) – Anglesey, Clwydian Range and Dee Valley, Llŷn, Gower and Wye Valley.

These eight places are also known collectively as Wales’ Designated Landscapes, as they have been given or ‘designated’ National Landscape or National Park status due to their truly special qualities.

Represented in the TCLW partnership, we have:

The lead officers for each National Landscape
The Chief Executives of the National Parks
The Welsh Government Designated Landscape and Countryside Access team
The National Landscapes Association
And Natural Resources Wales.

The partnership itself is coordinated by Ruth Lovell (who is based at Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, where I work too!).

Together, we believe passionately that everyone should have the opportunity to experience the joy of our special landscapes. That’s why we’re committed to putting diversity and inclusion at the very heart of our landscape family – so that anyone who volunteers, visits, or works for our Landscapes has a safe, welcoming and equally positive experience.

TCLW’s vision – our hopes and dreams!

“TCLW unlocks the potential of Designated Landscapes to deliver more together for climate, for nature, for culture and heritage and for people. Designated Landscapes are exemplars in responding to the climate and nature emergency; where a people-focused approach ensures all voices are represented and all radical action is taken collaboratively.”
- About Us, Landscape Wales website.

But what does that actually mean??

Most importantly, it means we need to establish a whole-organisation approach to improving diversity and inclusion. We know that change within boards and leadership is incredibly important – only when everyone is invested can we avoid a tokenistic, tick-box approach to inclusion.

I truly believe that you cannot have diversity without true inclusion first. Since I started in September 2022, I have been looking internally at the culture within our Landscapes. Working with HR teams across TCLW, we’ve reviewed policies and current recruitment practices to make them fairer across the partnership (something I will go into more in a future column).

I launched my inclusive staff email series, Landscapes for Everyone, which celebrates key monthly themes. It shares updates on our work on inclusion and access, and helps to keep the wider team more up-to-date, engaged and with the subject. It also helps them to see how it relates to their work.

To complement that email and the journey of our Landscapes, we’ve been working on in-house initiatives and training, such as trans awareness training during LGBQT+ History Month for all Designated Landscape staff. (The training was so good that a staff member has rebooked it for their local authority staff too!) I created inclusive rainbow badges with MIND Cymru for all staff to wear - I've since been so proud to see more rainbows in email signatures appearing and it gives people the confidence to be their true, authentic selves at work and feel valued too.

I have been really keen to reach out to different networks and events too, opening up new conversations and perspectives – TCLW were really proud to attend the Pride Cymru festival as a Landscape family in June last year. This has led to local landscapes connections, and I’m excited to share some more news about this soon!

What am I working on?

2024 is going to be such an exciting year in my role as we work on real change and initiatives at high levels! I have been working closely with teams across different organisations including the Welsh Government and Public Appointments, Protected Landscapes Partnership in England, and the Implementation Team behind the Anti-racist Wales Action Plan. We’re working together to develop policies and implement change across Wales Designated Landscapes, and further afield. I can’t wait to share more of this work happening at Government and governing body level in future letters.

Lastly, young people and youth engagement is something I am incredibly passionate about and that is a key focus for this year - I hope to be able to tell you all about some exciting steps around recruitment and more in the not too distant future…

How we can work together!

Only by taking a truly people-centred approach can we recover and protect the natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage of our Landscapes, ensuring that they will be here for Future Generations to come. We are truly open to all of your ideas!

If anything in the above sounds interesting or exciting, please do reach out! The more creative the better! Perhaps you are a group and want to work with us to promote awareness of, and access to, Designated Landscapes. You may have some ideas on how we can ensure a more diverse voice has a say in our priorities. Perhaps you are seeking some advice on how best to access or work with a specific Designated Landscape, or you need some guidance on nature conservation or wellbeing activities – whatever it is, we would love to hear from you!

Please do pop me an email on annaj@pembrokeshirecoast.org.uk – I would love to hear your ideas!

You can also follow us on X (Twitter) @LandscapesWales to hear about what’s going on across Wales.

Thanks so much for reading.

Best wishes,

Anna