The Mawddach estuary is an important habitat for birds

Members of the Snowdonia Society are gearing up to clear rubbish from the Mawddach estuary, which stretches inland from the seaside town of Barmouth to Dolgellau in south Gwynedd.

The team will spend all day on Friday cleaning the banks of the river around the picturesque Penmaenpool area.

It is the latest project in the society's campaign to tackle the problem of litter dumping in scenic parts of Snowdonia National Park.

The society's administration officer Dan James said "Operation Clear-up" had started in 1996 to tackle fly-tipping and surface mess.

Birds can get tied up in netting lines and small animals can get stuck in drink cans Dan James RSPB

"Most of the litter in the Mawddach is tidal debris washed up on the banks," he said.

"There has been a build-up of plastic, tyres and fishing equipment.

"These can have a detrimental impact on the wildlife as birds can get tied up in netting lines and small animals can get stuck in drink cans."

He added they had to visit the area regularly.

"Tidal debris is a problem that is not going to go away - we are never going to be able to stop people from dumping rubbish," he said.

Important habitat

The nearby RSPB nature reserve in woodland near Penmaenpool is home to a variety of birds, including pied flycatchers, wood warblers and redstarts.

Dick Squires from the RSPB welcomed the clear-up campaign which would help protect wildlife in the area, particularly the estuary's wading birds.

"There is a very important marsh area close to Penmaenpool which is home to an important population of breeding snipe," he said.

"They are not common to the whole of the British isles because they are very specific in their choice of habitat - preferring reeds and marshy areas like this."

Dumping ground

The Snowdonia Society was set up in 1968 to look after the beauty and diversity of the landscape, wildlife and culture of Snowdonia.

Already this year their volunteers have cleared a footpath between Capel Curig and Llyn Crafnant and a woodland near Llanffestiniog.

They took action at Bryn yr Odyn woodland after it had been turned into a dumping ground by fly-tippers.

They managed to fill a skip with old washing machines, furniture and builders' rubble.

"The idea is to visit places which are unlikely to be cleared by anybody else, although we work closely with the Environment Agency and local authorities," said Dan James.