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Dyfi Wildlife Centre

Dyfi Wildlife Centre

Our Cors Dyfi Nature Reserve near Machynlleth, as well as being home to the Dyfi Osprey Project and a seven-hectare beaver enclosure, is the base for our recently-built accessible visitor hub, Dyfi Wildlife Centre.

Built using grants from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Welsh Government, along with public donations, this pioneering, climate-positive visitor centre is powered using renewable energy sources and cutting-edge technology, including a 40Kw solar array on its south-facing roof, ground source heat pump and Tesla power wall energy storage. It generates far more clean energy than it needs – enough to power around 10 houses for a whole year!

Also a shining light of sustainability in Wales, the building utilises locally-sourced timber from nearby Esgairgeiliog Forest and slate from Llanberis, plus repurposed, recycled and reclaimed materials wherever possible, including old ship’s lights and old church pews from local chapel Capel Salem in Corris.

A shining light of sustainability in Wales, the building utilises locally-sourced timber from nearby Esgairgeiliog Forest and slate from Llanberis, plus repurposed, recycled and reclaimed materials wherever possible..."
Mural in the Dyfi Wildlife Centre showing Monty, the first Osprey to breed here

Photo: © MWT/Emyr Evans

Artist painting mural featuring native birds with Welsh and English names

Photo: © MWT/Emyr Evans

Volunteers laying down coins to make up a huge 'Penny Floor'

Photo: © MWT/Emyr Evans

Osprey feeding three chicks

Photo: © Emyr Evans

Iolo Williams releasing the beavers into their new home at Cors Dyfi copyright MWT/Emyr Evans

Iolo Williams releasing the beavers into their new home at Cors Dyfi © MWT/Emyr Evans

Videos and live feeds from the osprey nest can be watched in a high-tech viewing area with four screens and cinematic imagery. There too, visitors can enjoy the live feed from the beaver enclosure.

A shop sells wildlife-themed gifts, with an emphasis on Ospreys and Beavers, of course, with all proceeds going towards MWT’s conservation work. Food and refreshments are served in Caffi Ty Maenan, which prides itself on sourcing top Welsh produce wherever possible. There’s also a Wildlife Cinema showing footage captured on the reserve and events are hosted throughout the year.

The Dyfi Valley-themed visitor centre also pays tribute to its locale, with interpretation about the area’s industries, from mining to weaving, ship-building to coin-making. A feature staircase, made by a local carpenter from oak and recycled copper, evokes the hull of a famous ship built on the Dyfi River in the 1800s, while a penny floor on the Galeri made from donated pre-decimal pennies represents the Dyfi River.