THE FUTURE Generations Commissioner for Wales has visited the 'M4 threatened' Gwent Levels.

Wales’ Commissioner Sophie Howe was taken on a guided tour of the Gwent Levels and Magor Marsh Nature Reserve after being invited to the area by Gwent Wildlife Trust (GWT).

Her visit, organised by GWT, was Ms Howe’s first to the area.

During her tour, Ms Howe met GWT staff, volunteers from GWT’s Gwent Levellers group, as well as speaking with schoolchildren from Henllys Primary School in Cwmbran.

She even tried her hand at pond dipping catching a whole host of underwater bugs including caddisfly larvae, as well as tadpoles, stickleback fish and a variety of water snails.

GWT’s deputy chief executive Gemma Bodé said: “We were delighted to host the commissioner and show her first hand the M4 threatened Gwent Levels, an area which is as rich in biodiversity terms as the Amazon Rainforest."

Mother-of-five Ms Howe, is a keen naturalist and has fostered the importance of wildlife and the environment on her family.

She said her first date with her husband of 18 years was on a nature reserve and that she planned on returning to GWT’s Magor Marsh with her husband and the rest of her family.

Speaking about the visit, she said: "It is absolutely critical that we are protecting and enhancing places like the Gwent Levels and Magor Marsh and not taking any steps to damage them.

"We are all aware that here in Wales and across the world there is an ongoing decline in our biodiversity which has a negative impact on the environment.

"Having the different types of species at Magor Marsh, some of which are unique to this area, is crucial in terms of protecting nature, wildlife, our planet and environment, now and for future generations."