William tells villagers ‘holistic’ approach required to tackle flooding
William sympathised with residents in the rural settlement of Skenfrith who might be “anxious” about extreme weather events he said were no longer “one in 50-year” occurrences but seemed to be happening every year.
uncertain
he → tell → year
William was visiting the area to learn about how communities have been affected by recent flooding and what measures are being taken by local authorities and other agencies to mitigate future incidents.
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measures → visit → incidents
He chatted to Rod and Helen Wyatt at their garden gate and was told how the water almost topped gravestones in a cemetery opposite and they have now tiled the ground floor of their house and just live with the threat of flooding.
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they → chat → flooding
Mr Wyatt, who has lived in his home for 10 years, made light of the experience when he told William at one point “we had to give up really, we got two bottles of Prosecco and went to watch Strictly upstairs”.
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we → live → Strictly
William replied: “It must be so demoralising for you now, the worry each year you’ve got to go through that again, potentially, is becoming more frequent.
“
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you → reply → that
They keep talking about a one in 50-year event, it doesn’t make sense anymore.
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it → keep → sense
“It might be in the researching and scientific point of view – it’s happening every year now, it’s mad.
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it → happen → view
“So, it’s trying to understand how we can do a better holistic view of the whole catchment area, so we’re dealing with the whole problem.”
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we → try → problem
He listed a number of ideas from “slowing the water down” using farming landscaping remedies, tree planting and better monitoring “so we know when things might be getting worse”.
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things → list → remedies
William discussed the ideas in detail during his next visit on Thursday, meeting representatives from environmental charity Stump Up for Trees at Great Tre-Rhew Farm in Monmouthshire.
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William → discuss → Monmouthshire
The charity, founded in 2020, aims to plant one million native trees across south Wales and the Bannau Brycheiniog, formerly known as the Brecon Beacons.
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charity → found → Beacons
William joined volunteers harvesting seeds from a field maple tree and planted a sessile oak tree – designated as the national tree of Wales.
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William → join → Wales
To access the trees, William had to climb over a barbed wire fence and used a small step – joking that he did not want to rip his trousers.
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he → access → trousers
As he harvested seeds from the tree, he noted that he was “taller” than others present, adding “I’m going to reach up here and get these higher ones”.
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I → harvest → ones
The charity collected 35,000 seeds last year that were used to grow new trees for planting, and hopes to increase this to 60,000 this year.
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that → collect → 60,000
William planted the sessile oak, praising the compost from the charity’s nursery, and said he hoped it would grow well.
“It’s in a good spot, it has some space, it will be alright,” he added.
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he → plant → space
The prince spoke to Kate and Jim Beavan, of Great Tre-Rhew Farm, and Jenny Knight, the director of Stump Up for Trees.
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prince → speak → Trees
After the visit, Dr Knight paid tribute to William for “looking at not just the problems but the solutions as well”.
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Knight → pay → problems
Representatives from the Duchy of Cornwall also joined the visit to share learning about nature recovery, climate-resilient forestry and to start a long-term partnership.
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Representatives → join → partnership
Dr Knight described how that “knowledge exchange is so valuable” and said working together across different areas would have a greater impact.
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working → describe → impact
At the end of the conversation, William discussed his enjoyment of cider – which is made on the farm.
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which → discuss → farm
“He said ‘one pint a day keeps the doctor away’,” Dr Knight added.
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Knight → say → doctor
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