Friends of the Earth CYMRU
40 YEAR SENEDD CELEBRATION.
5th November 2024
As co-founder of FoE Cymru I outlined a few of the significant factors during the first phase of the development of Cymru in my short comments at the Senedd on November 5, 2024.
To begin at the beginning.
1. Porthcawl Friends of the Earth began in 1981, and we embarked upon two campaigns to protect local Sites of Special Scienfific Interest, Kenfig Nature Reserve and Merthyr Mawr, on east and west sides Porthcawl. We were successful in both).
The media work that we were able to achieve over that time was noted by Ian Sesnan, the Local Group Development Officer in the London FoE office. He telephoned out of the blue - until then, we’d had no contact with anyone at FoE UK.
That call was very significant because he was extremely positive, encouraging myself and Robert’s wider involvement within the FoE network.
It propelled me to join the FoE workshops and training that were being held in different parts of England, meeting other groups’ activists and significant UK campaigners, like Charles Secrett, Chris Rose and workaholic, Andrew Lees. (They were all workaholics).
2. Later, Jonathon Porritt, the then Director of FoE UK, suggested the idea of forming FoE Cymru to me, which we launched in Cardiff in 1984 with Jonathon himself. At that time there were only 3 or 4 local groups in Wales.
The first Wales-wide campaign was a challenge to all local authorities in Wales to respond significantly to the ‘Wildlife and Countryside Act’ to protect all our Sites of Special Scientific Interest.
This was before e mail, the internet and mobile phones, - thus the age of photocopying and instructing local printers to use a recycled paper product, then involving volunteers to stuff envelopes and stick on the stamps. (We couldn’t afford the stamps nowadays).
3. Rob and I worked closely together on publicity and information. We cultivated the Welsh media and they responded, especially the English language media: (newspapers like the ‘Western Mail’ with its very effective Environment correspondent, David Vickerman; ‘South Wales Echo’, ‘Swansea Evening Post’, regional newspapers, ITV, BBC Wales, etc.)
However, it was difficult to attract the Welsh language media.
FoE Cymru functioned, now as a national organisation, from a bedroom in Porthcawl – telephone number Porthcawl 5185. The phone started ringing day and night about everything you could imagine and some you could not.
People needed campaigning advice, information and help, from Prestatyn, Brecon, West Wales and Cardiff, as well as locally in Porthcawl and Bridgend.
4. UK Board member / Wales-wide Structure
At that time the Welsh FoE membership (623) were lumped in with the West Midlands as one region, with one UK Board member.
Later, I became the first Board member for Wales, going to London for regular meetings, which after a while enabled me to express forcefully that Wales is a country and not a county! It also had its unique environmental priorities.
(The subscriptions from the Wales membership went directly to FoE UK.)
Thus it became necessary to form a national structure, a governance, for Wales. Quarterly Workshops/Training/Meetings were organised – north, south, west and east Wales with an annual AGM.
5. Encouraged by Richard Branson, UK 2000 was formed. Later it morphed into the funding body called ‘Environment Wales’ (EW). This was government funding which allowed the formation of a network of environmental NGO’s in Wales.
This was forward thinking by the Welsh Office and of major importance - not supporting direct campaigning, but funding each group with a staff member to encourage practical community action. (Wildlife gardens, river clean-ups, station approaches, lots of recycling projects, etc.)
A significant cheque was made out to Friends of the Earth and delivered to Cardiff FoE. Stuart Ashley was the coordinator of this group, and its small office in Mary Street seemed to share premises with a theatrical costumier’s. Stuart didn’t know what to do with it and so Rob on a visit to Cardiff, relieved him of his worries.
This UK 2000 cheque took FoE Cymru from a bedroom to our first office in Lias Road, Porthcawl and our first salaried officer, Sue Pangbourne, working to help groups with Recycling Projects.
The EW network came together regularly.
6. Campaigns
The first UK campaign we ran, with groups and members in Wales, was ACID RAIN which attracted a good deal of media coverage. Our persistence resulted in a 30 minute HTV current affairs programme - the first in the UK, plus wide coverage in ‘The Guardian’ by environment correspondent Geoffrey Lean.
Other campaigns covered Ozone depletion, Air pollution - dioxins, from incinerators, anti-nuclear power expansion, opencast coal mining (this was huge), support for windfarms when speaking at public inquiries. Many of these included media stunts and speaking at demonstrations.
The media promotion depended upon theatrical visual campaigning, street theatre, frequently involving the children and their friends of those taking part, plus sometimes a high-profile person.
As chief spokesperson, Rob and I worked carefully on the press quotes and comments I made.
7. Professional help
Over time, additional support came from concerned scientists and academics in Wales, such as Professor Ron Edwards, the chairperson of the Environment Agency Wales, – now the NRW. Scientists began providing accuracy and even suggestions for our media comment. Most chose to remain anonymous to maintain professional credibility in a conservative world.
The book ‘Green Agenda: Essays on the Environment of Wales (Friends of the Earth Cymru published with Seren Books, 1994) again illustrated that academics were prepared to support radical causes, and now put their names to these.
8. Most of the campaigns were highlighting the negative environmental situations we were in. However, the very last demo I initiated, filmed by BBC and HTV, was a sizeable stunt on the steps of the Welsh Office. This brought together many environmental and energy groups, such as RSPB, Wildlife Trusts, Wales Anti-Nuclear Alliance, CND Cymru, etc.). People came with placards, banners and were dressed in costumes expressing what we all wanted. Energy efficiency and renewable energy. It was also filmed by BBC Wales also included in a programme about Rob, called ‘More Than Words’.
And here we still are! Yma o Hyd! Diolch yn Fawr.
Margaret Minhinnick, November 6, 2024