Press release – Local children learn how and why they should love Llyn Padarn

11th June 2014

On Thursday and Friday of last week 173 children from local schools took part in the Llyn Padarn Biodiversity Show in the Canolfan, Llanberis.

The children got stuck in with a busy day of science and engineering based activities to learn more about the complexity of managing Llyn Padarn, which is such an important part of their local environment and economy.  The activities were developed and delivered by Snowdonia National Park Authority, Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water and Natural Resources Wales, facilitated by the Loving our Lake project.

Each activity focused on a different aspect of lake management and highlighted the ways the children can minimise their own impacts on water quality.  “A tour of the Llanberis waste water treatment works proved a ‘wow’ for the children who were amazed to learn about the process of cleaning the water once it left their homes,” said Emma Edwards-Jones, Project Manager for the ‘Loving our Lake’ project.  A tank of young arctic charr, salmon and trout from the Natural Resources Wales hatchery illustrated the importance of maintaining water quality in the lake.  Having learnt about the role nutrients such as phosphates play in causing algal blooms in lakes, which occurred in Llyn Padarn in 2009, the children tested different brands of dishwasher detergent to see the difference in phosphate levels.  The Loving our Lake project is encouraging local residents in Llanberis, Nant Peris and Fachwen to switch to phosphate-free brands of dishwasher detergents to ensure the lake stays a safe place to play and wildlife to thrive.

Other activities involved the children building a dam in a river to calculate how many light bulbs it would light up if harnessed to produce electricity and conducting an experiment to investigate how different soil types absorb rainwater runoff. They also built their own drainage system for a fictional village to see if they could get water to flow and stop blockages, a message promoted by Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water’s ‘Let’s Stop the Block’ campaign. “It was a busy day and the children went home, some with soggy feet, but all much better informed as how to love our lake” says Emma.

More information on the event and suggestions on how people can change their habits to help prevent pollution can be found on the ‘Loving our Lake’ Facebook Community Page (search for ‘LlynPadarn’), and online at www.loving-our-lake.org. This website contains details of how residents and businesses can make simple changes to make a big difference.

Pupils from Ysgol Brynrefail, Ysgol Dolbadarn, Ysgol Gynradd Cwm y Glo, Ysgol Gwaun Gynfi, and members of the Llanberis Brownies and Girl Guides attended the event.