The charity believes it has a role to play in helping regenerate the Welsh countryside in the wake of the foot-and-mouth crisis.

The National Trust now has a stake in Snowdon

The National Trust is trying to take a step back from its waxed jacket image of old and play a more diverse role.

It runs many of the stately homes and some parks in Wales, playing a key role in the Welsh tourism industry.

In 1998, the Trust beat off a number of rival bids to buy a 4,000-acre farm on Snowdon for �3m.

A public appeal to help raise funds to buy the farm was supported by a �1m donation from the actor Anthony Hopkins.

Senior trust figures now want to broaden its appeal by working more closely with community groups.

Countryside management

The trust has set up a community links initiative and its new projects involve running a youth club at Erddig, near Wrexham.

Another scheme is the Heathlands Project, on the Gower Peninsula, near Swansea, which provides training in countryside management.

Both initiatives are examples, the trust says, of what it has to offer.

The launch of the scheme in Wales on Thursday was used to issue an appeal to find more project partners.