It has been a busy period at Bangor University, with the work and studies in full flow, and a number of exciting developments and events as we leave winter and look towards spring.

It’s an exciting year for Bangor as the city celebrates its 1500th anniversary. The University is working closely with Bangor City Council, Bangor Cathedral and others on the programme of celebrations. The University participated in the St David’s Day parade on 21st February and supported the St David’s Day celebrations, with Pontio hosting the Côr Eifionydd and Côr Dre performance. Pontio also hosted the ‘Gŵyl Non (Nid Dewi)’ event on 2nd March, an event to celebrate Bangor women. The University is also working with Bangor City Council on the Bangor History Festival, which will take place in the autumn.

Pontio continues to be a busy hub for the community this Spring. fabLAB workshops continue, introducing people to the spaces and equipment available to members. ‘BLAS’, the Pontio Arts community programme, continues with monthly Caffi Babis sessions and weekly dance sessions for individuals living with Parkinson’s. Pontio hosted the Chinese New Year celebrations on 1st February. Led by the University’s Confucius Institute, a number of performances and workshops were well attended by the public, including Tai Chi, Chinese calligraphy and a dance workshop. The celebrations culminated with a special gala performance to welcome in the new year.

Pontio also hosted the successful Bangor Music Festival 2025, which took place on 14-16 February. The three day event had a number of concerts, workshops, talks and community events, including Camau Cerdd (Steps in Music) for young children on 15th February. Looking ahead, Pontio and M-SParc will host the 22nd Rural Entrepreneurship Conference on 3-5 June.

The University’s Reichel Hall hosted the Eryri Visitor Economy Conference on 14th February. The event brought together local businesses, organisations and others to discuss sustainable tourism across Gwynedd and Eryri.

To celebrate the university’s 140th anniversary in 2024, the ‘Bangor University: 140 years of collecting art’ exhibition was launched on 1st February. The art collection, hosted by Storiel, consists of around 650 works, dating from the 17th to the 21st centuries. The exhibition opens until 29th March. The university’s Symphony Orchestra and Chorus performed at a concert in Prichard-Jones Hall on 23rd February, and will perform again on 6th April.

To celebrate the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, the University hosted the ‘Accelerate Action, Inspiring Careers in Marine Science’ event on 11th February. Led by The Wild Oysters Conwy Bay project and the university’s Endeavour Society, the event brought together young people, students and professionals to look at opportunities and career paths in marine science.

In Celebration of International Women’s Day, the university hosted the ‘Women in Sport, Accelerating Action on Leadership’ event on 5th March. The event, in partnership with Cymru Women’s Sport, featured a panel led by Professor Laura McAllister, a former Cymru women’s player and Professor of Public Policy and the Governance of Wales at Cardiff University’s Wales Governance Centre. The panel, which also included Sophie Harrison, Kate Hannon, Hannah Powell and Tricia Sterling, reflected on the progress made towards gender equality in sport and the journeys and challenges that still lay ahead.

The University was pleased to welcome back TV presenter Steve Backshall on 11th March. In front of a full audience, ‘How to speak whale?’ was a very successful event. Steve also held a Q&A session with the audience, and visited Porth Trecastell (Cable Bay) with the University Diving Club.

The University’s Community Fund continues to help bridge university staff with community partners. A further four projects were supported in early 2025, including youth summits focusing on public health, climate change and infection control; a project between the University’s Wales Screen Academy, Porthi Dre Youth Club and Aria Film Studios; and a collaboration between the Institute for the Study of Welsh Estates, Partneriaeth Ogwen and the Archives and Special Collections Department that seeks to deepen community connections in Dyffryn Ogwen.

The next Bangor University Community Board meeting will take place on 20th March. Board members will discuss a number of matters of relevance to the local community, including an update on the work of Bangor City Council, the Confucius Institute and EcoAmgueddfa.

Work has begun to improve College Park, located between the University’s Main Arts building and Deiniol Road. The project will make the area a more accessible and user-friendly space for the local community. The improvements include a new pathway linking the city centre with the Main Arts building and Pontio, as well as the installation of lighting to improve accessibility to the park after dusk.

The University’s presence on Bangor High Street has increased with the Bangor University Legal Advice Clinic (BULAC) now part of Tŷ Cyfle, Grŵp Llandrillo Menai’s new home in Bangor. BULAC provides free legal advice to members of the public. All advice is given by final year law students, supervised by qualified solicitors. Looking ahead, to celebrate the twenty years of Bangor University Law school, highlighting the shared work of access to justice and community engagement across the cooperative and social business movement of north Wales, join us at the new BULAC on Thursday 3rd April between 4-8pm, where a guest lecture, and bilingual roundtable discussion on how social enterprises can best serve access to justice in the Bangor community and surrounding areas, will take place.

Undeb Bangor, Bangor Students’ Union, loved hosting their annual St David’s Day Tea Party on 1st March (held at the Activities Hub on Ffriddoedd site, 12-4pm). Students and staff members worked together to run the event, which was attended by over thirty people and included lunch, bingo and an outstanding solo performance by a Welsh student. Their Tea Parties continue to create opportunities for social integration and to reduce loneliness in our student and older population. Anyone over the age of 65+ is welcome to sign up to Undeb’s mailing list by emailing teaparty@undebbangor.com.

Student volunteers continue to deliver educational and creative sessions on Fairtrade and Deforestation in local primary schools, visiting an additional four schools as part of Undeb’s Fairtrade Week activities (17-23rd February). They tailor content around school curriculums to compliment what children have already learnt and recently helped a school achieve Fairtrade status by running a session.

Volunteering Week at the Students’ Union was a massive success, with over 150 student volunteers coming together across seven events to make an impact:

  • Thirty students took part in a co-creation session with the RSPB to design and create a new student-led volunteering project;
  • Volunteers returned to Pen Y Bonc, a local green space in Upper Bangor, to help Ecologist, John Ratcliffe, and members of our local community, plant fifteen pear, plum and apple trees;
  • 400 trees were planted on the shores of the Afon Braint, North Wales River Trust’s new site on Ynys Môn/Anglesey;
  • Students joined community volunteers to fix fifteen items and diagnose seven items at Undeb’s Repair Café;
  • Fifty students collected 23.5kgs of litter on Dinas Dinlle Beach;
  • Fourteen societies, clubs and volunteering projects raised funds for their chosen charities at Undeb’s Big Bangor Bake Off & Sale. A total of £183.54 was fundraised for charities such as Tenovus, Anthony Nolan and Guide Dogs.

M-SParc also continues to be a hive of exciting developments, activities and events. Clwb SParci workshops continue for schoolchildren in M-SParc and also in the ‘On Tour’ sites in Bangor, Pwllheli and Bala. The Bala site will soon close with ‘On Tour’ moving onto a new site…stay tuned for details! As part of the St David’s Day celebrations, creative workshops were held in Bangor on 26th and 27th February.

M-SParc hosted a Career Expo – SparcX – on 10th February, looking at careers and hiring opportunities in the Built Environment. Around 100 people attended, from those looking for apprenticeships, to large companies creating careers in the region.

Tinint, the winners of Hac Iaith 2024, M-SParc’s Language Hack, have partnered with M-SParc to create “Cwis Bob Dosbarth”, a daily quiz to support Welsh education and encourage innovation through technology. As part of the development process, Ysgol Glan y Môr and Ysgol David Hughes participated and provided feedback. M-SParc also hosted the Gwynedd Innovation Conference on 12th March. The event, held in Gwersyll yr Urdd Glan-llyn, provided an opportunity to learn about support available for businesses in the area.

Spring has sprung at Treborth Botanic Garden, as exciting maintenance work and developments continue as part of The Woodland Investment Grant (TWIG), funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Work continues to improve the Garden’s pathways to improve accessibility, and the installation of a Forest Bathing area with training and courses will be coming soon. Therapeutic Gardening sessions will continue thanks to the support of Friends of Treborth and monthly wellness and nature connections workshops will continue through the spring months, celebrating the changes in the season. The Garden has been busy delivering botanical art, bryology and ecology workshops for staff, students and the local community and has hosted a diverse range of local group visits and talks. The next ‘Swap Don’t Shop’ event will take place in April in collaboration with Pontio, and a Mind and Mountain Psychology CBT style therapy course is in the process of being designed and will be introduced at the Gardens in due course.

On behalf of University staff and students, we wish you a Happy Easter and we look forward to updating you on the University’s work and relevant developments during the year.

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