What our partners have to say

Catherine Mealing-Jones, CEO Brecon Beacons National Park Authority

"The Beacons Water Group has delivered for the Brecon Beacons Mega Catchment Project this year and is now working with the 4 Rivers 4 Life team and the Usk Catchment Partnership to formulate practical on farm measures which improve water quality. Tackling the issues on the River Usk is a key priority for the National Park, and having farmers engaged and working on solutions is essential and ideally we would want to see the work of this Group replicated along the length of the river. We look forward to continuing to work with the Group."

Lilwen Joynson, Mentor and Business Succession Facilitator

"Inspiring how farmers have come together for the good of the whole and future generations."

Paul Sinnadurai, Senior Ecologist BBNPA

"The Beacons Water Group is an excellent initiative, catalysed and sponsored by the BBMC and led by forward-thinking farmers. The Group is seeking solutions to anthropogenic nutrient enrichment in the Usk Catchment, seeking solutions that the farming sector can offer and emulate in this, Wales’s most important water catchment. The work is encouraging, it’s blending with other initiatives (INNS control, Important Curlew Area, 4 Rivers for LIFE), meaning that integrated and diverse solutions might be possible; avoiding a prescriptive ‘one size fits all’ approach. Hopefully, results can be shared, emulated and expanded and major schemes like the Sustainable Farming Scheme will foster more of this results-based approach."

Charles de Winton, Rural Surveyor, Country Land & Business Association

"The Group are taking forward much needed practical changes to deal with water resources issues given climate change and all that entails. There are a number of different organisations active in this field at present and it is really important that everyone works together for the common good."

Prysor Williams, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Management, Bangor University

"I have had the opportunity to work with the Beacons Water Group as part of their EIP project focused on moving towards Net Zero. This involved us at Bangor University collecting data with the farmers to produce a carbon footprint report for each farm. This led to some great discussions around what they could do to reduce the environmental impacts of their systems, how they could learn from each other and share best practise. Many of those measures will also of course help protect water quality, improve biodiversity, and other environmental benefits. They clearly are an informed and visionary group of farmers who understand the need for their business to be sustainable from an economic and environmental perspective. It has been great to work with them, and I know that they have taken a genuine interest in the findings of the work."

Bob Vaughan, Chair, BBMC Steering Group

"Our changing climate and the pressures from society are creating land management challenges that we must all tackle. If we do not, we risk an unsustainable future. This is not something we can leave to others to solve; we all have a part to play. And so it is encouraging to see the Beacons Water Group recognising the issues and taking important and innovative steps to better understand the issues and develop and implement sustainable solutions. In doing so they set a fine example for the rest of us."