Stump Up For Trees

Bryn Arw – Bracken Cutting

Bryn Arw is a long, majestic hill in the shadow of the Sugar Loaf, near Abergavenny in the Black Mountains on the eastern edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park, South Wales.

In recent weeks, a 300 metre long message has been emerging on the bracken covered hillside, to the wonder of walkers, motorists and train passengers.

What does it mean?

‘DAW ETO DDAIL AR FRYN’ is Welsh for ‘There will be leaves on the mountain again.’ The words reference an uplifting line of poetry made popular across Wales during lockdown – ‘Daw eto haul ar fryn’, which means ‘There will be sunshine on the mountain again’.

‘STUMP UP FOR TREES’ / ‘CEINIOGI’R COED’ is an ambitious, developing local charity focused on woodland creation and improving biodiversity in the area. The charity is planting one million trees on steep bracken banks and marginal agricultural land, using innovative public-private funding initiatives.

Land Art

The letter cutting project has been co-ordinated by Welsh artist, Mick Petts, who has spent many years creating large scale public artworks from natural materials. He says he likes to ‘encourage people to see an artwork through the soles of their feet, as well as their eyes’.

Mick’s projects include brownfield sites like Garden Festival Wales at Ebbw Vale, Parc Penallta near Ystrad Mynach and many other sites across the South Wales valleys. His work has been incorporated into many conservation projects – The Millennium Coastline Project in Llanelli, Kew Gardens, Hiller’s Arboretum and several for The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust across the UK.

Mick Petts said: ‘Bryn Arw gives us a massive billboard to help us get the planting message out there. Wales is leading the world with the first Future Generations Act, and it follows that we should also be leading in environmental action. It’s time to get practical and redress the huge and embarrassing lack of tree planting in Wales.’

For more information go to http://www.stumpupfortrees.org/