A £1.1m wildlife centre with a 100-seater auditorium is to be built in the centre of a peat bog in Mid Wales.

Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust has secured Heritage Lottery funding for the ambitious project at its Cors Dyfi Reserve, one of the few lowland peat bog left in Wales.

As well as showcasing the reserve’s rich biodiversity, including its iconic ospreys, the Dyfi Wildlife Centre will feature the area’s cultural, industrial and natural heritage.

Up to 60,000 visitors annually are expected at the facility near Machynlleth, which is expected to open in spring 2020.

A parallel project will also fund work to re-introduce beavers to the reserve after many centuries of extinction in Wales.

The new wildlife centre will complement the existing 360 Observatory on Cors Dyfi reserve
The new wildlife centre will complement the existing 360 Observatory on Cors Dyfi reserve

Dyfi projects manager Emyr Evans said the new visitor centre was the “dawn of a new era” for the reserve.

“For 10 years we have been organically adding various elements to our visitor amenities but they are beginning to resemble tired, bolt-on features,” he said.

“This project allows us to build a great new visitor centre in mid Wales that will give adults and children alike an amazing experience of the ospreys, wildlife and the rich heritage of the Dyfi River.”

The Dyfi Wildlife Centre will be built alongside the reserve’s 360 Observatory, a three-storey viewing platform built four years ago, again with Heritage Lottery funding.

Tegid, a male osprey, was the first Dyfi-born bird to return to the nest when he briefly touched down next to resident female Glesni on her nest last month. The 360 Observatory can be seen in the background
Tegid, a male osprey, was the first Dyfi-born bird to return to the nest when he briefly touched down next to resident female Glesni on her nest last month. The 360 Observatory can be seen in the background

The new facility will include an exhibition centre which will double as a 100-seater venue for talks, workshops and folk concerts.

Wildlife lovers will even be able to marry at the centre.

“People ask all the time to marry in the 360 Observatory!” said Emyr.

“We will now be able to open for eight months of the year instead of five as well as hosting special events during the winter months.

“It’s a great opportunity for communities to gather, work and learn together.”

Monty and Telyn have produced three chicks at Cors Dyfi this year
Monty and Telyn have produced three chicks at Cors Dyfi this year

The new building will be raised one metre off ground level on steel pilings to enable wildlife to move freely below it.

It will have a “minimum-plastics” construction with a focus on environmental sustainability: walls will be made from reclaimed pallets, floors from reclaimed timber and all insulation will be recycled newspapers or sheep’s wool. Old coins will also form part of the flooring.

Car park capacity will double to around 50 vehicles and extra decking will be installed.

A 50kW solar panel system will generate around nine times more electricity than the building needs, making it one of first carbon-positive buildings of its type in the UK.

Surplus electricity – enough to power around six home – will be fed back to the national grid.