THE Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) is holding a special ‘Living Quarry’ day of nature-based activities on July 31 to celebrate the opening of a new ‘Living Wales’ exhibition.

Throughout the day, visitors to CAT in Machynlleth can get involved in helping to monitor the species that live in the centre’s varied habitats, working with CAT's family activities team to help build up a living history of the unique site.

Budding naturalists can explore woodland, heath, meadow, pond and stream, looking out for a wide variety of birdlife, mammals, insects and reptiles. New 'TrackerPack' backpacks provide guides and ID kits to help nature spotters of all ages to identify and record plant and animal species, and there’ll be the chance to learn how to use a range of free mobile apps to collect and record information that can help scientists to track the impacts of climate change on our native plant and animal species.

John Challen, Head of CAT’s Eco Centre said: "We don't have to travel the world to see amazing plants and animals – we can start in our own back gardens and neighbourhoods. Visitors' observations can contribute to tracking changes in the biodiversity at CAT, giving glimpses into the real-time health of the amazing ecology throughout the visitor centre."

The new ‘Living Wales’ exhibition at CAT brings to life an innovative project from Aberystwyth University, which uses a combination of satellite imagery, computer analysis and ground observations to provide real time monitoring of the Welsh landscape.

The exhibition allows visitors to see how satellite imagery has revealed the scale of the impacts of climate change over the last 30 years and how technology can help us manage solutions in the future.

All activities over the summer holidays are free of charge with your entry ticket. For more information, visit www.cat.org.uk/summer2019