A programme which starts at 6am means that while most of the nation is sleeping soundly, producers, researchers and presenters will be fine-tuning items, refining scripts, chasing new guests and stories or looking for fresh audio.

A couple of days later those same producers and researchers could well be burning the midnight oil until 3am on the so-called late shift. If you work on Good Morning Wales, sleeping at strange times of the day and getting up at ludicrous times of the night, becomes something of an art form!

We set ourselves high standards on Good Morning. It should set the agenda for the news in Wales. It should hold public figures to account. It should delve into the guts of stories with intelligence and rigour. But it should also be quick-witted, entertaining and mischievous. That’s a tricky balancing act to get right every morning.

It’s an incredibly exciting time to be working on the programme. We’ve got a talented new presenter line up in Louise Elliott and Oliver Hides, lots of ideas for covering key Welsh moments and new plans for some agenda-setting journalism.

And of course, we’re already thinking about next year’s Assembly elections. The challenge will be to cover it in a way that people find relevant, engaging and informative. It will be a challenge but I also hope it will be fun.

DNA barcode of spreading bellflower (Campanula patula), an herbarium specimen of the species.

The Garden's Head of Conservation and Research, Dr Natasha de Vere, who leads the Barcode Wales project, will be in Chongqing for Wales Week, said: "Andrea began her exploration for this exhibition by starting from our science centre and photographing the plants growing wild outside our building and in the surrounding area.

"The plant species in Andrea's photographs have a personality of their own, like actors in a play. Sometimes we can tell what they are, sometimes they are more elusive. The DNA barcodes given with each photograph are a code to identify that plant species, even when we cannot identify it with our eyes."

Nanshan Botanic Garden is hosting the exhibition and has invited Prof Liggins, Dr de Vere and the Garden's Director Dr Rosie Plummer to Chongqing for the celebrations.

According to Sinba Duan, Senior Wales Officer in Chongqing, it's anticipated the exhibition will get 500,000 visitors in March and April - peak season for the Nanshan garden.

The exhibition is at the Nanshan Botanic Garden, Chongqing, from February 27 for three months.

Barcode Wales is a joint project between the National Botanic Garden of Wales and National Museum Wales.

The aim of Barcode Wales is to make Wales one of the first nations to DNA barcode all of its native flowering plants (1143 species) and to use the barcodes for biodiversity conservation and improving peoples' lives.

Spraying invasive plant species. Image by Rivers Trusts of North East Wales

The Balsam and Knotweed for example, shade out the native wild flowers and insects that depend on them, which leaves the ground bare in winter leading to erosion of these areas.

"One of the main aims of the River Trusts is to maintain and enhance native species of plants and animals in their catchment areas," says Dr Neil Smith from the Countryside Council for Wales (CCW).

"The project is challenging, owing to the large size of the catchment. We hope the conference will help all the groups involved work well together and make steady progress in years to come."

The conference is sponsored by the Countryside Council for Wales, Environment Agency Wales, Natural England and the local authorities within the catchment and is calling for a systematic approach and good training to tackle invasive species.

Richard Lucas of the Welsh Dee Trust said: "So far we have trained 28 volunteers who are accredited in the use of herbicides near water systems, but we hope this conference will enable us to share ideas of best practice and get many more involved."

Another part of the work involves the long-term mapping of the invasive weeds to provide better information for management and control.

Barafundle Bay, on the Pembrokeshire Coast by Arwyn Harris.

Lonely Planet's Tom Hall explained: "As well as the novel ability to walk its entire coastline, the region comes out top because of its wildlife, great surf, castles and fantastic spots such as Barafundle Bay and St Davids.

All this comes as no surprise to anyone living in or regularly visiting Wales, as we've been shouting about it for years! Take a look at our beach and coastal photos.

Back in 2010 Rhossilli Bay on Gower won the best beach at the Great British Beach Awards swiftly followed by a 2011 win for Three Cliffs Bay on Gower in 2011.

Meanwhile, the Pembrokeshire coast was honoured by the prestigious National Geographic in 2010 as the 'second best coastal destination in the world' to visit. Not bad when you consider it was up against countries such as New Zealand, Hawaii and Chile.

Check out some amazing coastal walks from our BBC Wales Weatherman Walking series and find plenty of 'wildlife friendly' places to visit in our Places to Go section. We've also got some great beach guides for surfers.

You can read more about this story on BBC News.

Outdoor play

They also stress that children under five learn better and develop quicker in outdoor lessons and that teachers could do more to create opportunities to get some fresh air into the classrooms (and vice versa).

BBC News: Estyn call for more outdoor learning in Wales.

That certainly isn't the case at Llanrhidian Primary on Gower, which I visited last week as part of my research for the programme.

The school has its very own farm, housed in an internal courtyard within the main building, complete with hay bales, chickens and ducks!

Two pupils in wellies were busy mucking out while I visited and were clearly enjoying themselves.

Head teacher Donna Caswell also showed me the school's orchard, wind turbine and even pathways covered in Penclawdd cockle shells, claiming that the whole project has transformed the life of the school.

She also told me that pupils are less anxious when they're outside and therefore learn better and faster than in an indoor environment. I was even able to buy a box of eggs on my way out, freshly laid that morning.

You can hear more on the debate surrounding 'Nature Deficit Order' on Country Focus on Sunday, 30 October.

Feel free to add your comments about this topic to the blog.

Sheep portrait by Photography King on Flickr.

Police and Trading Standards Officers are asking people to 'remain vigilant' but it's difficult to know how to tackle the problem.

One of the difficulties is keeping an eye on livestock and to catch any rustlers in the act. After all, you can't install CCTV high up in the hills.

We've tried looking at this issue on Country Focus, but again found that people are extremely reluctant to talk publicly about the problem.

I remember seeing a news report about a farmer in the Yorkshire Dales who got so fed up at losing his stock to thieves, that he sprayed his entire flock a bright orange.

Another suggestion from the farming unions is to make gates into fields narrower, so that access is harder - but again, that means extra cost for the farmers.

The rural equivalent of Neighbourhood Watch, called Farmwatch is drawing more members as these incidents increase.

At the moment, there are schemes covering large areas of rural Wales from Anglesey to the Ogmore Vale, using the latest technology to help combat rural crime.

If anyone notices a suspect vehicle for example, they can contact the local police who then send out a text message to all the Farmwatch members in the area to alert them to a potential problem.

There's a common assumption that farming does well during war or recession but I doubt that farmers who've lost livestock recently would agree.

The new re-usable bags being sold in Haverfordwest.

There's a picture of a turtle on the bag - highlighting the fact that marine life doesn't always know the difference between a plastic bag and a jellyfish, and often becoming entangled in or swallow our castaway carriers.

This weekend, Wales will become the first country in the UK to charge customers for plastic (or single use) bags.

The minimum charge will be 5p per bag and retailers are supposed to nominate a charity for the levy revenue.

This week, the Marine Conservation Society issued a press release welcoming the new charge and reminding us all that in 2009 an estimated 350 million free plastic bags were used in Wales - that's a lot of plastic.

They've also highlighted the fact that more than 170 species of marine wildlife have mistaken litter for food, resulting in poisoning and fatal stomach blockages.

But will the charge make a difference? You could argue that 5p isn't much extra to pay on top of your average purchase but then again, it all mounts up.

Today, Coed Cadw, The Woodland Trust announced that the Lakeland store chain will be donating the money they raise from carrier bags to the charity.

So already, environmental groups and charities are looking forward to some extra cash. Surely, though, the main point is get us to change our shopping habits - it's about using less plastic to help the environment, not raising extra money isn't it?

I asked shoppers in Haverfordwest what they thought and although some had already begun using 'bags for life', quite a few people said they wouldn't be using less plastic bags, even if they have to pay for them.

As one woman said, 'I use mine to line the bins at home - I couldn't do without plastic bags'. It's amazing to think that we've only been using plastic bags for the last twenty years or so and before that, everyone took their own bag shopping.

I think it's about breaking hard habits - once you get used to taking a bag with you, it's easy to go 'cold turkey' with the plastic.

I can remember having a whole cupboard under the sink full of plastic bags - a plastic bag museum and you might think they'll come in handy, but in reality they rarely do.

One of the first retailers on the high street to charge for bags was Marks and Spencers back in 2008 and have reduced their food bag usage by 80%.

And in Ireland, where they also started charging (after some initial complaints) they've also seen the use of plastic bags go down by around 90%.

We don't have long to wait to see how we get on in Wales as the new charge comes into force from this Saturday, October 1.

The turbines will be visible from the Gower, Pembrokeshire and north Devon coasts.

Carwyn Jones, questioned by assembly members, said it meant large onshore wind farms could be built anywhere in Wales.

A consultation on Atlantic Array has been held in Devon and the first of seven exhibitions in Wales opens in Porthcawl at the Grand Pavilion today.

It is thought the development will cover an area of sea similar in size to the Isle of Wight.

Developers claim it could provide the equivalent of more than 90% of the domestic electricity consumption needs of Wales.

All this comes at a time when local councils and the Welsh Assembly are attempting to attract more tourism and watersports enthusiasts into south Wales.

Plans are already in the pipeline for Swansea Bay to become a 'centre of watersports excellence' and feature sports such as sailing, canoeing, kayaking, rafting, surfing, rowing, windsurfing and kite-surfing.

It will be very interesting to see how the proposed wind farm, spanning a large part of the Bristol Channel will effect local surfing and wind conditions at the surfing beaches in the area.

South Wales currently serves a large population of surfers, windsurfers and kite-surfers who travel from far away, to enjoy the excellent wind and wave conditions found along this stretch of the coast with the M4 corridor making it easily accessible.

A regeneration scheme is also going ahead in Porthcawl where a new Adrenaline Coast Festival gets under way next month (October 7-9). This includes a UK Pro surfing contest featuring 100 of the best UK surfers and a £2000 prize.

Read more about the wind farm story on BBC News.

Have your say in the comments box below.

The mysterious letter M photographed by Roy Gregory on St Tudwal's East island off Gwynedd.

Roy said: "I passed on Friday and it wasn't there, we didn't go out on Saturday because it was too rough, and then when I passed on Sunday I saw it," he said.

Carla Lane bought the island in1992 and the neighbouring island of St Tudwal's West is apparently owned by explorer Bear Grylls.

Do you know how it got there? If so, we'd love to hear from you in our comments section below.

Joe Wales and father Don explain to the crowd why the record attempt failed.

A very despondent looking Joe and his team came to update the crowds and explain what had gone wrong. Pendine has too many potholes, it seems, which they think may be caused by jellyfish, burying themselves in the sand, waiting for the tide to return.

19-year-old Joe had an excellent first run apparently and would have reached a speed of around 120 mph had he not hit potholes but unfortunately he veered off course and didn't make it through the timing lights.

The young driver injured his neck and the car broke its wishbone (I won't pretend to understand what part of a car that is) and would be taken to Pembroke Dock for repairs.

The electric car is towed off the sands for repairs.

The crowds however applauded his valiant attempt and the team said they hoped (sponsorship permitting) to be back for another attempt in the not-too-distant future.

'Team Wales' has an impressive pedigree when it comes to setting records. Joe's great-grandfather was Sir Malcolm Campbell who beat the UK land speed record at Pendine in 1924 with a top speed of 146 mph.

Things have moved on a bit since then in the world of speed, but it seems that Pendine, with its six miles of hard flat sands which are hundreds of yards wide at low tide, is still useful for record breaking attempts.

World record attempt on BBC News

The official Bluebird website

This feral pony had no way of escaping the conduit.

The Ardudwy Leat is a conduit which captures water from the headwaters of streams in the Eden basin and is roughly 10km long. Here is Keith's report:

Firemen begin their rescue attempt using shields for protection.

"Ostracized from the rest of the herd since February, this poor feral pony found himself in the Ardudwy Leat, near Trawsfynydd, North Wales (having probably jumped over one of the bridges) with no means of escape."

Rescuing a wild pony requires plenty of man power.

"He'd been there for at least a day but fortunately for him, the Fire Service came to his aid and did a great job in getting him out. He was soon back grazing with just a few minor grazes from his ordeal."

Firemen, using a thick rope manage to haul the horse up and out of the water to freedom.