Iolo Tudur Williams (; ; born 22 August 1962) is a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

ornithologist Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

, nature observer, television presenter and author, best known for his

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

and S4C nature programmes, working in both English and his

first language A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongu ...

. After a 14-year career with the

RSPB The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a Charitable_organization#United_Kingdom, charitable organisation registered in Charity Commission for England and Wales, England and Wales and in Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, ...

, in 1999 Williams became a full-time TV presenter. He has written a number of books about the natural world.

Biography

Williams was born in

Builth Wells Builth Wells (; cy, Llanfair-ym-Muallt) is a market town and community in the county of Powys and historic county of Brecknockshire (Breconshire), mid Wales, lying at the confluence of rivers Wye and Irfon, in the Welsh (or upper) part of ...

Breconshire , image_flag= , HQ= Brecon , Government= Brecknockshire County Council (1889-1974) , Origin= Brycheiniog , Status= , Start= 1535 , End= ...

, but his family moved to

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; cy, Sir Benfro ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and the rest by sea. The count ...

, before moving to

Montgomeryshire Montgomeryshire, also known as ''Maldwyn'' ( cy, Sir Drefaldwyn meaning "the Shire of Baldwin's town"), is one of thirteen historic counties of Wales, historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It is named after its county tow ...

, when he was aged five, to live in

Llanwddyn Llanwddyn () is a village and community in Montgomeryshire, Powys, Wales. The community is centred on the Lake Vyrnwy reservoir. The original Llanwddyn village, about northwest, was submerged when the reservoir was created in the 1880s. Geograp ...

near

Lake Vyrnwy , image = Lakevyrnwysummer.jpg , caption = View overlooking Lake Vyrnwy showing the full extent of the lake , image_bathymetry = , pushpin_map=Wales Powys , caption_bathymetry = , location = Wales , c ...

. Educated at

Llanfyllin High School Llanfyllin High School (''Ysgol Uwchradd Llanfyllin'') is a bilingual secondary school situated in the mid-Wales town of Llanfyllin. It currently has around 1000 pupils drawn from the town and the surrounding area. About a quarter of the pupils l ...

, after gaining two

A-Level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...

s in Biology and French, he almost joined the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

but instead went to the

North East London Polytechnic , mottoeng = Knowledge and the fulfilment of vows , established = 1898 – West Ham Technical Institute1952 – West Ham College of Technology1970 – North East London Polytechnic1989 – Polytechnic of East London ...

(now the University of East London), graduating with a degree in

Ecology Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...

Career

After graduation, Williams worked on a farm and then in the timber trade, before joining the

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a charitable organisation registered in England and Wales and in Scotland. It was founded in 1889. It works to promote conservation and protection of birds and the wider environment throug ...

(RSPB) in 1985, staying for 14 years working in the field and as a regional co-ordinator. This led to his making regular appearances in the media, making a name for himself as a leading expert on Welsh bird life. In 1997 he made ''Visions of

Snowdonia Snowdonia or Eryri (), is a mountainous region in northwestern Wales and a national park of in area. It was the first to be designated of the three national parks in Wales, in 1951. Name and extent It was a commonly held belief that the nam ...

'' with

BBC Wales BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Wales. It is one of the four BBC national regions, alongside the BBC English Regions, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland. Established in 1964, BBC Cymru Wales is ...

, which followed the lives of six people living and working on the slopes of the country's highest mountain. After making a second series, in 1999 Williams decided to leave the RSPB and pursue a full-time career in the media. In 2007 he presented ''Canals of Wales with Iolo Williams'', a five-part series looking at the canals of Wales. In 2008 he presented another series focusing on the Welsh landscape, ''Iolo's Natural History of Wales''. Williams presented ''Rugged Wales'', which aired on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

on 13 and 20 March 2012. In 2013 he presented ''Iolo's Great Welsh Parks'', and in 2015 he presented a second series of the programme. He continued to present series for the BBC which focused on his native Wales, presenting ''The Brecon Beacons'' in 2016, then a third series on great Welsh parks. He continued to showcase Welsh wildlife by presenting ''Iolo's Snowdonia'' in 2018. The same year saw him travel to Australia to film ''Wonders of the Great Barrier Reef''. In 2019 Williams became a regular presenter on ''

Winterwatch ''Springwatch'', ''Autumnwatch'' and ''Winterwatch'', sometimes known collectively as ''The Watches'', are annual BBC television series which chart the fortunes of British wildlife during the changing of the seasons in the United Kingdom. The p ...

'', ''

Springwatch ''Springwatch'', ''Autumnwatch'' and ''Winterwatch'', sometimes known collectively as ''The Watches'', are annual BBC television series which chart the fortunes of British wildlife during the changing of the seasons in the United Kingdom. The p ...

'' and ''

Autumnwatch ''Springwatch'', ''Autumnwatch'' and ''Winterwatch'', sometimes known collectively as ''The Watches'', are annual BBC television series which chart the fortunes of British wildlife during the changing of the seasons in the United Kingdom. The p ...

'' on BBC Two. In 2020 he presented ''Iolo: The Last Wilderness of Wales'', about the wildlife of the

Cambrian Mountains The Cambrian Mountains ( cy, Mynyddoedd Cambria, in a narrower sense: ''Elenydd'') are a series of mountain ranges in Wales. The term ''Cambrian Mountains'' used to apply to most of the upland of Wales. Since the 1950s, its application has becom ...

. In 2021 he presented a four-part personal view of the natural world of Pembrokeshire in ''Iolo's Pembrokeshire''.

Awards

In 2007 Williams was awarded an honorary fellowship of

Bangor University , former_names = University College of North Wales (1884–1996) University of Wales, Bangor (1996–2007) , image = File:Arms_of_Bangor_University.svg , image_size = 250px , caption = Arms ...

. He received further honorary fellowships from

Aberystwyth University , mottoeng = A world without knowledge is no world at all , established = 1872 (as ''The University College of Wales'') , former_names = University of Wales, Aberystwyth , type = Public , endowment = ...

in 2015 and the

University of South Wales The University of South Wales ( cy, Prifysgol De Cymru) is a public university in Wales, with campuses in Cardiff, Newport and Pontypridd. It was formed on 11 April 2013 from the merger of the University of Glamorgan and the University of Wal ...

in 2017.

Personal life

Williams and his wife Ceri live near the town of

Newtown, Powys Newtown ( cy, Y Drenewydd) is a town in Powys, Wales. It lies on the River Severn in the community of Newtown and Llanllwchaiarn, within the historic boundaries of Montgomeryshire. It was designated a new town in 1967 and saw population growt ...

. The couple have two sons (Dewi and Tomos); and had two

rescue dogs Pet adoption is the process of transferring responsibility for a pet that was previously owned by another party such as a person, shelter, or rescue organization. Common sources for adoptable pets are animal shelters and rescue groups. Some or ...

, Ianto and Gwen, who have both appeared in some of his television series. Known for frequently wearing

shorts Shorts are a garment worn over the human pelvis, pelvic area, circling the waist and splitting to cover the upper part of the legs, sometimes extending down to the knees but not covering the entire length of the leg. They are called "shorts" b ...

for his work, he has, as a result, become a Welsh cult gay icon. Williams and his wife have built a fully-insulated

timber-framed Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden ...

home. They have a

wildlife garden A wildlife garden (or wild garden) is an environment created by a gardener that serves as a sustainable haven for surrounding wildlife. Wildlife gardens contain a variety of habitats that cater to native and local plants, birds, amphibians, rep ...

, and grow their own vegetables. They

compost Compost is a mixture of ingredients used as plant fertilizer and to improve soil's physical, chemical and biological properties. It is commonly prepared by decomposing plant, food waste, recycling organic materials and manure. The resulting m ...

all their

food waste Food loss and waste is food that is not eaten. The causes of food waste or loss are numerous and occur throughout the food system, during production, processing, distribution, retail and food service sales, and consumption. Overall, about o ...

, and recycle everything else, whilst always eating

organic Organic may refer to: * Organic, of or relating to an organism, a living entity * Organic, of or relating to an anatomical organ Chemistry * Organic matter, matter that has come from a once-living organism, is capable of decay or is the product ...

and local produce. As a result of this, in a 2011

World Wide Fund for Nature The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wor ...

survey of

carbon footprint A carbon footprint is the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by an individual, event, organization, service, place or product, expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). Greenhouse gases, including the carbon-containing gases carbo ...

s of ecology personalities, Williams and his family were found to have a low rating of 1.81, compared to a Welsh average of 3.0.

Filmography

Television

*''Natur Gudd Cymru'' (S4C) *''Bro'' (S4C) *''Iolo yn Rwsia'' (S4C) *''Gwyllt'' ( S4C) *''Natur Anghyfreithlon'' (S4C) *''Crwydro'' (S4C) *''Iolo's Special Reserves'' 2003 (BBC) *''Canals of Wales'' 2007 (BBC) * ''

Wild Wales ''Wild Wales: Its People, Language and Scenery'' is a travel book by the English Victorian gentleman writer George Borrow (1803–1881), first published in 1862. The book recounts Borrow's personal experiences and insights while touring Wales ...

'' 2009 (BBC) *''Secret Life of Birds'' 2010 (BBC) *''Wild Winter'' (BBC) *''Iolo's Welsh Safari'' 2005 (BBC) *''Iolo's Natural History of Wales'' 2008 (BBC) *''Iolo ac Indiaid America'' 2010 (S4C) *''

'' 2010-2022 (BBC) *''Rugged Wales'' 2012 (BBC) *''Iolo's Great Welsh Parks'' 2013 (BBC) *''Iolo's Snowdonia'' 2018 (BBC) *''Wonders of the Great Barrier Reef with Iolo Williams'' 2018 (S4C & BBC) *''

'' 2019-2022 (BBC) *''Hydref Gwyllt Iolo'' 2020 (S4C) *''The Last Wilderness of Wales'' 2020 (BBC) *''Iolo's Pembrokeshire'' 2021 (BBC) *''Iolo's Anglesey'' 2022 (BBC) *''Iolo: A Wild Life'' 2022 (BBC)

Written works

*''Blwyddyn Iolo'', Gwasg Gwynedd, 2003 *''Crwydro'', Hughes a'i Fab, 2004 *''Wild about the Wild'', Gwasg Gomer, 2005 * * ''Wild Places Wales'', Seren, 2016 * ''Wild Places UK,'' Seren, 2019

References

Sources

*''Llyfr Natur Iolo'' by Paul Sterry – Gwasg Carreg Gwalch, 2007

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Iolo 1962 births Living people Welsh-language television presenters People from Builth Wells Royal Society for the Protection of Birds people British ornithologists British conservationists Welsh environmentalists Welsh television presenters People associated with Bangor University Welsh zoologists Alumni of the University of East London