Mike Raine Nature Of Snowdonia

Dan Raven-Ellison describes himself as a guerrilla geographer and creative explorer. He is the Founder and CEO of Slow Ways, a groundbreaking initiative to create a national walking network that connects all of Britain's towns, cities, and National Parks. Check out Slow Ways and see how you can contribute: https://beta.slowways.org/. The movement needs support in reviewing mountain routes. Could you incorporate Slow Ways into the routes you plan? Sign up for emails and follow them on social media to stay updated. In this conversation, we also talk about walking with a mind-reading device on your head, City National Parks, and safe roadside walking. It was a fascinating discussion that could have gone on much longer!

Tim Jepson is best known for working the Bangor University Outdoor Education PGCE. In that role he trained over 600 teachers of Outdoor Education and as such he holds a special affection in the outdoor world. He also worked at Plas y Brenin and more recently has been very involved with the BMC. We talk about how Tim got into the outdoors, the career he's had and what he's up to now. We finish with a conversation around sound advice for the developing outdoor leaders and some environmental considerations. This was a lovely, relaxed conversation with a master of the outdoors.

Mehemet Karatay is a Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor, Winter Mountain Leader and Orienteering coach based in the Cairngorms. He is part of the Mountain Weather Information Service (MWIS) team and has a doctorate in Glaciology. Mehmet reveals the origins of his name, how he came to be a walker, climber and instructor in Scotland. We also talk about glaciology and forecasting for MWIS.

What do you really know about upland farming? Given the farming protests going on currently I think it's really important to talk to real farmers about the issues affecting them. Listen to this podcast with Celyn from 2021 then come and meet her in person on the farm in June to find out more... ⁠https://www.mikeraine.co.uk/event-details/up-on-the-farm⁠

I can't believe it's four years since we interviewed Teleri Fielden on the Outdoor Lives Podcast. This episode was recorded in 2020 just after the Corona virus has swept through the nation. You can actually come and meet Teleri this summer on our Down on the Farm Workshop. Come and find out more about the realities of farming, in particular nature friendly farming. Teleri has sheep and beef cattle on the land. She grazes the cattle on the hill in summer and seeing them up there is fabulous. She has been on her own farm for four years and is now married with a baby, so she's busy! Come and see how she's getting on four years on…

Dr Flitcroft is responsible for managing the BMC's relationship with the Government and other countryside and recreational organisations. She is often to be found lobbying hard for the rights of hill walkers, climbers and mountaineers. She leads the BMC on policy and legislation issues affecting the cliff and mountain environment and is responsible for replying to numerous consultation documents in England and Wales. She was once a champion athlete and has, by her own admission, spent far too much time in the wilderness. Her PhD is about peat bogs.

Esther does a lot of rock climbing work from beginners to coaching for progression. She works on Mountain training Courses, she is Director of the Women's Climbing Symposium and, with a Post Graduate Qualification in Environmental Education, she works with the Field Studies Council too.  We talk about but her pathway to success, the Women's Climbing Symposium and some good advice for others progressing through the Mountain Training schemes

A big chat about land management, particularly in the uplands. And what changes to the way we support farmers could mean for the hills.

Lou runs Freedoms Outdoors based her in Eryri National Park. She, with her partner john, also run an accommodation base called Capel Tanrallt. In the podcast we find out how Lou got into the outdoors and the incredible range of pursuits in which she has, and does, take part. Lou has become known as one of the largest providers of ML training and assessment, running courses monthly through most of the year. She recognises how lucky she has been in her career with supportive people around her and time to engage in a whole manner of outdoor activities. She is keen to help those who don't have quite so much time. Lou is particularly supportive of those who might not live near the mountains and have other commitments to manage when gaining their skills and working towards qualifications.

Iago is managing upland peat restoration on the National Trust Ysbyty Ifan estate here in Eryri National Park. He helps to understand why peat and blanket bogs are incredibly important and how they are trying to enhance the status quo.

Gus Routledge is a Scottish ecologist with a particular interest in bryophytes, though he also puts a good case for grasses and sedges. He operates in the uplands, where he has found several very rare plants. In this podcast he discusses with Nathan what he does and the projects in which he is involved. Take a look at his inspiring posts on Instagram @pinkfootedgus

Darren Johnson is a Midlands based Mountain Leader who is currently the Chair of the  BMC Midlands committee. Darren has a lifetime of diverse experience and a passion for bringing people together, he brings more to the outdoors than a love for adventure. Over the years, he's built a multi-faceted career, spanning local government management, social services, and business ownership, which has given him a unique perspective on fostering resilience and connection. Darren runs a mental health charity which offers counselling and psychotherapy. Darren is keen to create spaces—whether in the wild or in conversation—where people feel understood and supported.

Helen Moran of the Martin Moran Foundation talks to Dr. Nathan Chrismas for the Outdoor Lives Podcast The https://www.martinmoranfoundation.co.uk/ aims to inspire people through the power of mountain adventure, climbing and community in wild places. To elevate the lives of young people through purpose, passion and powerful experiences in the mountains and to remove barriers for young people who want to explore the beauty, freedom and value of our natural world. Find how Martin's son and daughter are leading the work of the foundation

Lou, from Devon, is now living and working in the French Alps as a Mountain Guide. She talks through gaining her Mountain Training Qualifications and then becoming a Guide. She tells us what it's like to work as a Guide. She now lives in Chamonix with her Mountain Guide husband and they are expecting their first child, which is always a challenge for self-employed people. We do, of course, touch on the added challenges a female climber has living the life of an instructor and Guide.

Mia and Caroline are Dilyn Nature/Guided by Nature and they run the excellent Practical Mental Health Skills Workshop for Outdoor Leaders. I wanted to find out more about them, what they do and how they do it. We talk about each one of their personal journeys to form Guided by Nature/Dilyn Nature. We discover the range of work they do and more about future CPD plans. We finish with some free top tips! Take a look at their offering at www.guidedbynature.cymru

Hello, this is a short introduction to the forthcoming series with special news of a new development.

This is a special, bonus summer edition of the podcast. I visited the Cymdeithas Eryri/Snowdonia Society weekend in Nant Gwynant to find out more about the Society and the event. A full new series will start in November

Angela heads up the Ramblers in Wales. She leads a team campaign on behalf of footpaths and walkers. We chat about what the Ramblers are doing and how they are going about it. We touch on many topics, such as working with Welsh Government, volunteers and landowners.

Sarah believes passionately in the importantance of walking for all. Her business is based in a lowland area and she thinks the Lowland Leader could be more valued. “There are such a high percentage of the population that, if you have ‘hill', ‘mountain', ‘challenge' or ‘hike' in the title of anything, they won't even consider it.” Sarah Price.

Staff Sergeant Nathan Jones is an Adventurous Training Instructor (ATI) in the Royal Army Physical Training Corps (RAPTC), Nathan is on a mission to transform people's lives through the power of the outdoors by connecting wannabe adventurers with professional guides and instructors through the Discover A Guide platform.

Rhys works for a combination of the National Trust, the Eryri National Park and Natural Resources Wales. He is the warden and public engagement officer for the National Nature Reserve that contains Cwm Idwal.

Rob is the current Chair of the Association of Mountaineering Instructors (AMI). He is a keen climber, freelance mountaineering instructor and technical advisor based in the South Lakes. He offers offer Rock Climbing Instructor (RCI), Climbing Wall Instructor (CWI) and Climbing Wall Development Instructor(CWDI) courses. He can provide guiding, and a range of climbing courses.

David is a conservationist and naturalist, and this book is a story of nature, farming, conservation and reconciliation in the Welsh uplands. It is set on one particualr farm and we get to learn about that farm, the people who work there, their history and the story of their land. It's a great read. In this podcast we discuss some of the issues raised in the book and glance at the interaction between farming and conservation.

Shane is the Chief Executive Officer of Ourea events. Ourea Events are well known as the organisers of challenging running events such as the Dragon's Back Race and the Cape Wrath Trail Run. He is a seasoned elite runner and extreme climber himself; he currently holds the record for the fastest unsupported round of the Lake District Classic Rock Routes. Shane is also a member of the Kendal Mountain Rescue Team and has held senior roles within the team for the last ten years. Our conversation took place the day after he had run across Wales on a weekend off.

Chris Forrest – Chief Instructor Joint Services Mountain Training, former Senior Instructor at Plas y Brenin and Instructor at Glenmore Lodge. UIAGM Guide, Kayak and Canoe Coach, Climber, skier, paddler and family man.

Alec works for the Eryri National Park and is the project manager for the Yr Wyddfa Plastic Free project. The project is about much more than just plastic. Listed to Alec explain what is going on, why it's important, how it's making a difference and how you can help. Can Snowdon become the world's first ‘plastic free' mountain?

Rich is a climber, walker, biker and A&E Consultant. He heads up the medical team for Ourea Events and is an active member of, and doctor with, the busiest mountain rescue team in the country.

The Snowdonia Society is a member-based conservation charity that works with local communities, organisations, businesses and individuals to help look after Snowdonia.  Since 1967 the Snowdonia Society has worked tirelessly to ensure that Snowdonia is well-protected, well-managed and enjoyed by all.

Mountain Leader, Nature Friendly Farmer, former Bannau Brycheiniog Ranger, former Yr Wyddfa Warden, Former Head Warden and Senior Manager at Eryri National Park; Helen Pye chats about her new role at the National Trust the land the Trust own, how it's managed and a few other tangents besides.

Former headteachers Fiona and Rob Nicholson have been running Gwesty Plas Coch in Llanberis since 2019. Their vision was to develop Plas Coch as part of the outdoor community whilst themselves working hard to become part of their new home village community. Their knowledge of the Eryri mountains and lakes have helped them to establish themselves and drove their recent endeavours to become the first ‘Gold Level' business under the Plastic Free Yr Wyddfa scheme.  

Phill has been an active mountaineer for over 40 years. During that time he has completed the Winter Mountain Climbing Instructor (WMCI) qualification and the British Mountain Guides scheme (IFMGA) which qualifies him for all aspects of mountaineering activities world wide. Phill is a qualified teacher and has worked for private and local Education based centres throughout the country on an instructional basis and as a technical expert. Based in Snowdonia, he is now a very popular provider of National Governing Body Awards for Summer Mountain Leader (ML) Rock Climbing Instructor (RCI) and Hill & Moorland (HML)  

Pete Edwards owns and runs his own business, Prowess Climbing Coaching; helping climbers of all abilities and ages to not only improve their climbing grade but also their enjoyment of their climbing by helping improve technical, tactical and psychological skills. Prowess also provides coach education courses, including the BMC FUNdamentals of Climbing workshops and other CPD workshops. Pete speaks intelligently about the relatively new world of climbing coaching.

In a wide ranging conversation with Tom about his role and how he comes to be doing it we touch on all sorts of things, including the fact that it didn't freeze on Clogwyn Ddu (850m) at all last winter!

Mal Creasey has influenced thousands of mountain leaders, instructors and guides in a climbing career spanning over 60 years. He worked as the Technical Officer for Mountain Training England, as a Guide in the Alps and as a member of staff at Plas y Brenin. He was involved in the first two MIA (now MCI) courses, he's an author, writer and is still active walking and climbing every week.

Dewi Davies is the Project Manager for National Trust Cymru focussing on the Uwch Conwy catchment in the east of Eryri National Park. Dewi leads a team of people on the restoration of nature, predominantly peatland at the head of the river basin, but also working on rivers and their catchments to improve habitats by restoring natural processes and increasing tree cover. The project also supports farming tradition and heritage. They are working on access improvements, so that people living and visiting the area can benefit from nature, too. All this helps with mitigating the effects of climate change -fire, drought, floods and species and habitat declines.

Paul Poole runs a range of mountain based training courses in north Wales. He's a very popular provider of the Mountain Leader Courses and the Rock Climbing Instrucotor courses. Paul also runs trips to Scotland, Morocco and Nepal. Listen in to find out more about him and the way he does things.

My guest today is Robbie Blackhall-Miles of Llanberis. He is, amongst other things, a conservation scientist, ethno-ecologist, ecology lecturer at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, writer, horticulturist, and the charity Plantlife's Vascular Plant Officer for the National Heritage Lottery funded Natur am Byth project - a partnership project between Natural Resources Wales and 9 environmental charities.

Dan Lane, Operations Manager at RAW Adventures is a Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor, Chemistry Graduate, keen climber and proud dog owner. Dan is also a trustee of the Tom Furey Trust. In Dan's role he employs many walking leaders and climbing instructors, he organises major events and manages to climb in between. He works on ML courses and has been central to the setting up of the Tom Fury Trust.

Jut a little chat about First Aid in the outdoors. To fill the mid-summer gap before Outdoor Lives returns in the Autumn.

James McHaffie is well known in climbing circles for his high-end ascents of some of the hardest sport and trad rook climbs in the world. He has climbed over 200 routes of E7 and above. He has soled 100 Extremes in a day in the Lake District, he has completed all the climbs in Ken Wilson's Extreme Rock book and he's the ‘King of the Pass' having climbed Jerry's Roof, Central Icefall Direct and Lord of the Flies all on the same day. But he's more than a climber and today I wanted to ask him about working for the BMC, working as a mountaineering instructor, climate activism, but most of all his new book Eleri. Warning, this podcast contains bad language.

Let me tell you more about the pictures used in The Mountain Leader -a practical manual.

This is a bonus podcast where I simply talk about the book, The Mountain Leader - a practical manual. How the book came about, what it covers, who it's aimed at and much more. Just a bit of insight for you really.

Rhys is a local lad, brought up on a farm near Dolgellau, but he never wanted to be a farmer. As a teenager football, games and friends were his priority. He studied Geography at University and then found work in the conservation sector. We talk about how he came back to farming, farming life and most of all farming in a nature friendly way. This is an illuminating, information podcast. Rhys speak so well; he is very engaging. Join us to find away between the polarised rewilding verses food production discussion.

Philip Sykes Dale is a highly qualified outdoor education with many years of experience in a range of settings and locations. He climbs, walk, paddles, bikes and skis. Phil has just taken over as head of Centre and the impressively refurbished Towers Outdoor Centre in Capel Curig. The Towers is now under the ownership of Active Learning Centres. I wanted to find out more about the redeveloped of this crumbling former LEA Centre and the plans Active Learning Centres have for it. We talk widely about the outdoors, outdoor education and of course what happening at the Towers.

Derek Ryden, inventor of Reflexcell and founder of Blizzard Protection Systems Derek was born in Blackburn, Lancashire. He started hill-walking aged 12 and rock-climbing aged 15. Now been climbing for 51 years, but started inventing stuff aged 8! Worked variously as a teacher, property renovator, transport consultant and energy conservation researcher before realising that inventing things was what I did best. Founded Blizzard in 2000 to make a new design of emergency survival bags and blankets. Other inventions include “Slugs” (a type of slide nut formerly made by Faces) and the Ropeman (a prusiking device made by Wild Country). Now semi-retired, but still climbing, inventing things, and playing the saxophone.

Sabine Nouvet is a project officer with the Celtic Rainforest Project. This 7-year LIFE project is funded by the European Commission Nature and Biodiversity Fund and Welsh Government Green Infrastructure Grant. It focuses on protecting and restoring 5 designated temperate rainforests across 40,000ha of Wales. As an Ecologist, Sabine has been working with farmers and landowners across Eryri for more than 15 years with the mission to improve the environment in cooperation with people and their livestock. Before that, she studied Fish and Wildlife Management in her home country of Canada, and helped with various ecological research projects across North America, from the Yukon to New Hampshire. Her appreciation of the role humans have in our natural systems stems from experience with hunters and trappers of Canada, as well as journeys around the world. For Sabine, the Holy Grail of conservation management is finding solutions which deliver high value nature while including people and their culture. We find out what these rainforests are, how to recognise them, how special they are and how the proect is working hard improve them.

Guy Wilson is the founder of Pure Outdoor, based in the Peak District. An award winning Outdoor Training Centre and B Corp. Guy has been working as a mountaineering instructor and in business development at Pure Outdoor for over 15 years and loves spending all of his spare time in the hills. Guy is another example of people who make things happen and makes them happen well. Lot's of inspirational advice in this one.

Gecko Experience is a West Midlands- based outdoor business, which is predominately a DofE-approved activity provider. Tasha started the business in 2014 after completing a degree in Outdoor Adventure Education in Plymouth, during which time I also completed my Mountain Leader training, and then my assessment in 2015. Prior to starting up Gecko Experience Tasha volunteered with local Duke of Ed groups, and really enjoyed working with young people, encouraging them make the most of the great outdoors. Much of the work is based locally in the West Midlands for Bronze and Silver expeditions. Gold expeditions are run in the Peak District, Snowdonia or the Lake District. As well as working in the outdoors Tasha spend a lot of spare time camping, walking and biking both within the UK and overseas. Tasha is a great example of setting up your own business and making things happen.

In this episode we talk to Becky Parker and Sam Goodfellow from Simon Langton Grammar School in Kent. Straight away you may spot that this is not our standard podcast, but the work Becky and Sam have been doing is very relevant to Mountain Leaders, Hill and Moorland Leaders, Lowland Leaders and Mountaineering Instructors. What they've been doing is not only connecting young people to nature, but proving it makes a difference. They are joined by two of their students, Charlotte and May who, I'm sure you will agree, slightly steal the show! They are inspiring and will give you faith that young people are keen to step up and make a difference.

Dr. Nathan Chrismas, Mountain Leader, climber and Lichenologist. Nathan is a keen outdoor person with a passion for the natural world. He's a key member of the British Lichenological Society's education team. Nathan has joined in with one or two of my workshops and his enthusiasm and natural way of introducing the world of lichens has proven fascinating and inspiring to the group. Nathan will the be leading on a Nature of Snowdonia - Lichen Special Workshop in the Rhinogiau, look out for these on www.mikeraine.co.uk

My guest today is Bryn Williams of Bryn Williams Mountaineering. Bryn is a MIC (WMCI, IML). Bryn is a provider of Mountain Training courses, technical advisor, former MTC and MTUK executive officer, now MTC board director volunteer and a founder and trustee of the Tom Furey Memorial Trust. He's a family man, skier, paraglider and climber. Bryn has been part of the Llanberis Mountain Rescue team for nearly 20 years. Bryn was born and bred in north Wales and is one of very few Welsh speaking instructors operating at provider level, as such he is an important role model for local people who are often unaware of what opportunities are on their doorstep. See Bryn's great day out in north Wales here https://youtu.be/yDPAVy4bnPc