Conservation

Team Report

2017 - 2018

Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales

1 www.welshwildlife.org

Contents 1. Introduction ...... 3 1.1 Members of the conservation team ...... 3 1.2 Our assets ...... 8 1.3 Our funders ...... 9 2. Nature Reserves ...... 10 2.1 Introduction to our work on our nature reserves ...... 10 2.2 Habitat management ...... 14 2.3 Research ...... 17 2.4 Recording and monitoring ...... 20 2.5 Volunteers ...... 22 2.6 Public access management ...... 25 2.7 Interpretation ...... 27 3. Wider Countryside ...... 28 3.1 Introduction to our wider countryside work ...... 29 3.2 Partnerships...... 29 3.3 Representation on external committees ...... 30 3.4 Planning ...... 31 3.5 Consultation responses ...... 32 3.6 Wider Countryside Projects ...... 33 3.6.1 Connecting People and Nature ...... 33 3.6.2 Gelli Hir – A Woodland Haven for Wildlife & The Community ...... 35 3.6.3 West Glamorgan’s Wild Woodlands – the last leg! ...... 36 3.6.4 Making a difference for wildlife – our ‘Pioneer Project’ ...... 36 4. Marine Conservation ...... 38 4.1 Discovering Our Coasts ...... 38 4.2 Living Seas, outreach & awareness raising ...... 39 5. Media and public awareness ...... 39 5.1 Media work ...... 40 5.2 Public Engagement ...... 41 5.3 Wildlife queries ...... 45 6. Consultancy and contracts ...... 45 6.1 Consultancy ...... 45 6.2 Contracting ...... 46 7. Education ...... 47 8. Plans for 2018-19 ...... 49

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1. Introduction

This report covers the work delivered by the Conservation Team of the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales (WTSWW) during the financial year 2017 - 2018. It covers the full breadth of work undertaken by the team, including both core funded activities and fixed-term grant funded projects. It aims to capture and celebrate the ongoing work that is done every year, and recognise fully the huge effort made by the team in simply maintaining the present condition of our many and glorious nature reserves, as well as the new and innovative projects. Neither would succeed without the other, but so often, that which is routine is neglected, when we speak and write about our work. Many of our fixed-term projects produce reports of their own, and more detail on any area of work included in this report is available on request from the member of staff involved. Contact details for all the team members are available below.

This report is written by all the members of the Conservation Team and their volunteers, and compiled and edited by Lizzie Wilberforce.

1.1 Members of the conservation team

This year saw quite a few changes to our team.

Kate Gwynn, our previous year’s student placement from Aberystwyth University, finished her year with WTSWW and returned to her final year of study, with our grateful thanks for the huge amount of energy, enthusiasm and hard work that she gave to our team. At the start of the new academic year we welcomed Lily Ginns as our 2017-18 placement, from Cardiff University. You can find Lily’s account of her time with WTSWW later in this report.

Seasonal contracts issued during 2017 included the Skomer Assistant Warden (Sarah Purdon, who we were pleased to welcome to our staff team as she had previously volunteered with us in a number of different roles), and our Skomer Field Worker post (Julie Riordan).

At Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre (CBMWC), Living Seas Awareness Officer Emma Lowe moved on to pastures new, and with a slight change to the role, were able to welcome Aline Denton to the team as the CBMWC Project Officer.

Lorna Baggett moved from her role as People and Wildlife Officer during the year to take on a role managing the nature reserves in the Valleys, backfilling the vacancy left by Carys Solman when she became Conservation Manager. This meant we had a vacancy to fill at Parc Slip and we were delighted to recruit Megan Howells to the role as People and Wildlife Officer, who hit the ground running after her experience with us two years ago as a placement student with the team.

Leighton Newman also left his Skomer post for new adventures on the Norfolk coast in early 2018, and we welcomed Sarah Parmor to the island team as the Skomer Visitor Officer, ready for the new season. With much experience both on Skomer and on Ramsey, Sarah was also ideally placed to take on the unique challenges that Skomer presents.

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We were also sad to say goodbye to Carys Solman in the spring of 2018, who left the role of Conservation Manager in our central region. At time of writing this post has not been recruited and the management roles are being shared by existing staff. Likewise we had to say goodbye to our People and Wildlife Officer Rose Revera, who left our shores for exciting travels overseas.

At the very end of the 2017-18 year, WTSWW also formally merged with Brecknock Wildlife Trust. Although the merger officially took place on the first of April 2018, the 2017-18 year was heavily dominated by preparations for the merger. The achievements and outputs of the Brecknock team are not included in this report, as they were a separate organisation for the relevant period and will report accordingly. However, mindful of the integration of the teams and of welcoming their conservation staff to our fold, their details are given at the end of the following section on team members.

The contact details for each team member are given below.

Conservation Team Staff April 2017 – March 2018 inclusive

Sarah Conservation Manager Woodcock [email protected] 07976 464284

Lizzie Conservation Manager Wilberforce [email protected] 07970 780553

Carys Solman Conservation Manager for Carmarthenshire, Swansea, Neath & Port Talbot (until February 2018)

Ben Allen Mid Wales Grey Squirrel Control Officer 07980 [email protected] 928733

Lorna Baggett Reserves Officer (Valleys) 07812 [email protected] 063444

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Richard Skokholm Observatory Warden Brown [email protected] 07971 114303

Bee Büche Skomer Warden 07971 [email protected] 114302

Tara Daniels West Glamorgan’s Wild Woodlands Project Officer 07855 [email protected] 009622

Aline Denton Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre Project Officer 01545 [email protected] 560224

Laura Evans Living Seas Volunteer Co-ordinator 01545 [email protected] 560224

Giselle Eagle Skokholm Island Warden 07971 [email protected] 114303

Ceri Evans Reserves Officer (Carmarthenshire, Swansea, Neath, Port 07497 Talbot) 006612 [email protected]

Em Foot Wildlife Trust Officer, Ceredigion 07980 [email protected] 932332

Lily Ginns Cardiff University placement

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Meg Howells People and Wildlife Officer (from October 2017) 01656 [email protected] 724100

Becky Hulme Mid Wales Red Squirrel Officer 07972 [email protected] 201202

Tim Jones Wildlife Trust Officer, Bridgend & Vale 07811 [email protected] 117140

Rebecca Killa Wildlife Trust Officer, Carmarthenshire 07970 [email protected] 780558

Catherine Education Officer Lewis [email protected] 07972 176963

Vaughn Conservation Officer Matthews [email protected] 01656 724100

Leighton Skomer Visitor Officer (till February 2018) Newman [email protected]

Sarah Parmor Skomer Visitor Officer (from March 2018) 07530 [email protected] 796150

Sarah Perry Living Seas Science Officer 01545 [email protected] 560224

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Sarah Purdon Skomer Assistant Warden (2017 and 2018) 07816 [email protected] 990371

Rose Revera People and Wildlife Officer (till December 2017)

Elisa Miquel Sheffield University – Skomer Guillemot Fieldworker (hosted Riera by WTSWW)

Julie Riordan Skomer Seabird Fieldworker (April-August 2017)

Nia Stephens Teifi Marshes People & Wildlife Officer (until May 2018)

Eddie Skomer Warden Stubbings [email protected] 07971 114302

John Thomas Estates Worker, Teifi Marshes

Paul Thornton Senior Wildlife Trust Officer, Swansea Neath and Port Talbot 07966 [email protected] 564372

Nathan Wildlife Trust Officer, Pembrokeshire Walton [email protected] 07971 114301

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Brecknock Conservation Staff at 31 March 2018

Stephanie Conservation Officer [email protected] Coates 01874 625708

Pauline Hill Wild Communities Project Officer [email protected] 07840 104607

Chris Jones Wild Communities Project Manager 07840 104607 [email protected]

Tam Lipman Wild Communities Project Assistant

Sarah Ogilvie Wild Communities Project Assistant

1.2 Our assets

The assets for which the Conservation Team are responsible grew slightly during the 2017- 18 financial year due to a number of changes in our estate.

We formally renewed our lease on Talley Lakes in Carmarthenshire, securing its tenure as a WTSWW nature reserve for a further twenty years.

We also signed a lease for Llyn Fach nature reserve, for a period of twenty five years, from Natural Resources Wales (NRW). This upland lake had previously been a Glamorgan Wildlife Trust nature reserve, and so it is fantastic to have it return formally to WTSWW’s portfolio.

We are currently responsible for 92 nature reserves (if our south Gower coast sites are considered individually), totalling 1825 ha of land. A spreadsheet of our holdings and tenure details is held by Nigel Ajax-Lewis and all our land is submitted each year to Welsh Government on a Single Application Form, all our land being registered on their IACS system (with the exception of common land). The map overleaf shows the distribution of the reserves (accurate at 31 March 2018). The incorporation of the Brecknock Trust in 2018 will add a further eighteen nature reserves to the portfolio.

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WTSWW nature reserve locations at 31 March 2018 1.3 Our funders

The Conservation Team continue to benefit from a wide range of external funding sources, which are critical to our ability to deliver the range and breadth of work that we seek to achieve. We are particularly grateful to NRW for the funding they have contributes to a wide range of our conservation activities this year, and particularly to the management of our Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). We also receive substantial funding from the players of People’s Postcode Lottery, which supports the management of nature reserves and much of our people engagement work, including at Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre (CBMWC).

We were also fortunate to benefit from a number of very generous legacies and individual and local group donations to the Trust, both restricted and unrestricted, which supported our conservation work, but which we do not list individually in this report.

We are grateful to the following grant and corporate funders for their support during 2017- 2018. We would also like to extend our thanks to those grant foundations who did not wish to be named but who have made significant contributions to key projects during the year.

Amphibian & Reptile Conservation Gower Landscape Partnership The Beryl Thomas Animal Welfare Fund The Green House, Llandeilo Biffa Award The Heritage Lottery Fund Bridgend County Borough Council JNCC Carmarthenshire County Council Llanharan Community Council The Co-operative Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council Dale Sailing Mike the Biz Dolphin Survey Boat Trips The National Trust Dow Silicones Ltd. Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water Natural Resources Wales EH Smith Builders Merchants Pembrokeshire Biodiversity Partnership Enovert Community Trust Pembrokeshire Bird Group Freshwater Habitats Trust Players of People’s Postcode Lottery

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Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council Tesco RSPB Vale of Glamorgan County Borough Council Scottish Woodlands Waterloo Foundation SITA Trust Welsh Government South Hook LNG Volunteering in Wales Fund via the WCVA South Wales Fire & Rescue Service WREN St Modwen The Wildlife Trusts

2. Nature Reserves 2.1 Introduction to our work on our nature reserves

The ongoing management of our nature reserves takes up a significant proportion of the team’s time. Just maintaining the status quo with regard to conservation condition and public access is a significant responsibility in terms of investment (both capital and revenue) by the Trust, and particularly in terms of the Conservation Team’s time. The Wildlife Trust movement as a whole is a significant landowner and one of relatively few conservation charities who specialise in this. Our management of nature reserves, which vary in significance from local to international importance, is a key part of our organisation’s identity in the public eye. The following sections of the report provide case studies and some facts and figures to give a flavour of our work on our nature reserves over the last year.

The table below shows the total number of recorded staff and volunteer days involved in direct on-site management of mainland sites (Skomer and Skokholm are not included), arranged in descending order. Please note that voluntary wardens’ time is not included in this table, nor is local group activity (such as the Lavernock, Cwm Clettwr and Coed y Bwl groups); these data reflect only the volunteer time in work parties as reported by Conservation Team staff. This year the Parc Slip takes back over from the Teifi Marshes as the mainland reserve receiving the most management effort; one of these two flagship sites always tops the bill of the investment of management time.

In 2017-18 there were 1187 reported staff days directly involved in mainland land management (astonishingly close to the 1185 reported in ’16-‘17) and 3839 days in total, including volunteers (only just short of the prior year total of 3990). The figures encompass all site-based activities; breakdowns by activity type are detailed later in the report. Support from volunteers more than triples the investment of management time we are able to make in the conservation of our land and other priority sites, and the value of this cannot be overstated. We are indebted to the generosity of our volunteers.

Direct management- Nature Reserve or third party site County total person days Parc Slip Glamorgan 450.3 Teifi Marshes Pembrokeshire 350.4 Brynna Woods & Llanharan Marsh Glamorgan 313.1 Gelli Hir Glamorgan 292.7 Carmel Carmarthenshire 187.2 Castle Woods Carmarthenshire 144.9 Priors Wood & Meadow Glamorgan 144.75 Third party sites All 133.75 Pengelli Forest Pembrokeshire 130.75

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The Dranges Glamorgan 99.75 Rhos Pil Bach Ceredigion 97.05 Cwm Colhuw Glamorgan 94 West Williamston Pembrokeshire 93.75 Taf Fechan Glamorgan 84.75 Cwm Clettwr Ceredigion 83 Overton Mere Glamorgan 75.2 Cadoxton Ponds Glamorgan 68 Coed y Bedw Glamorgan 63 Coed Garnllwyd Glamorgan 62.5 Coed Maidie B Goddard Ceredigion 50 Llangloffan Fen Pembrokeshire 47.625 Ffrwd Farm Mire Carmarthenshire 46.2 Dowrog Common Pembrokeshire 43.25 Pwll Waun Cynon Glamorgan 41.75 Llyn Fach Glamorgan 40.5 Penralltfach Gerddi Pembrokeshire 38 Caeau Llety Cybi Ceredigion 37.5 Rhos Glyn yr Helyg Ceredigion 34 Old Warren Hill Ceredigion 30.5 Craig Cilhendre Glamorgan 29.75 Coed Simdde Lwyd Ceredigion 25.5 Rhos Glandenys Ceredigion 24.6 Elizabeth & Rowe Harding Glamorgan 23.75 Pembroke Upper Mill Pond Pembrokeshire 20.75 Poor Man's Wood Carmarthenshire 20.5 Killay Marsh Glamorgan 19.5 Coed Llwyn Rhyddid Glamorgan 19 Baglan Badger Sett Glamorgan 18.9 Roydon's Corner Glamorgan 15 South Gower Coast (all) Glamorgan 14.25 Rhos Marion Ceredigion 13.55 Y Gweira Glamorgan 13.25 Westfield Pill Pembrokeshire 13 Redley Cliff Glamorgan 12.75 Lavernock Point Glamorgan 12.5 Cors Ian Ceredigion 12 Melincwrt Falls Glamorgan 11.3 Cardigan Island Ceredigion 11 Coed Penglanowen Ceredigion 11 Goodwick Moor Pembrokeshire 9.5 Nant Melyn Carmarthenshire 9.5 Port Eynon Point Glamorgan 9.25 Rhos Fullbrook Ceredigion 8.6 Peel Wood Glamorgan 8.5 Talley Lakes Carmarthenshire 8.1 Pant Da Ceredigion 8 Hambury Wood Glamorgan 7 Kilvrough Manor Woods Glamorgan 6.5 Penderi Cliffs Ceredigion 6.5 Overton Cliff Glamorgan 5.4 Red Jacket Fen Glamorgan 5.35

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Rhos Cefn Bryn Carmarthenshire 4 Cwm Ivy & Betty Church Glamorgan 3.5 Llanrhidian Hill Glamorgan 3.5 Cors Goch Carmarthenshire 3 Deborah's Hole Glamorgan 2.5 Coed Gawdir Glamorgan 2.1 Pennar Fawr Ceredigion 1.3 Berry Wood Glamorgan 1 Coed Wern Ddu Carmarthenshire 1 Redden Hill Glamorgan 1 Bolgoed Quarry Glamorgan 0.7 Long Hole Cliff Glamorgan 0.7 Allt Crug Garn Ceredigion 0.6 Coed Barcud Glamorgan 0.5 Llannerch Alder Carr Pembrokeshire 0.5 Blaenant y Gwyddyl Glamorgan 0.3 Broad Pool Glamorgan 0.25 Total: 3838.6

The pie chart to the left shows the distribution of combined data for staff and volunteer time dedicated Carmarthenshire to the positive management of land (this time including Skomer Ceredigion and Skokholm) during the last Glamorgan year, by geographical area. It Pembrokeshire shows a reasonably equitable Islands division of resource between mainland west Wales and Glamorgan, and the significant requirements of the Pembrokeshire islands, whose share has increased since last year due to changes in the staffing structure on Skomer.

We’ve chosen to include two very different case studies this year on the theme of nature reserve management. The first is from Carmarthenshire, where we are working in partnership to secure positive management of a very small, two-field WTSWW nature reserve that’s off the beaten track, acquired for very specific ecological interest. The second is a ‘day in the life’ tale of our Skomer Assistant Warden Sarah Purdon, on a heavily visited and internationally protected flagship site. This really serves to demonstrate the diversity of challenges faced and skills deployed by our conservation team on a daily basis.

Reserve management in partnership: Rhos Cefn Bryn, a case study

Rhos Cefn Bryn nature reserve is 6 hectares of unimproved marshy grassland in the middle of Carmarthenshire, managed by WTSWW. It is made up of 2 fields dominated by Purple Moor Grass, with other plants such as Cross-leaved Heath and Ling, Cotton Grass, Bog Asphodel, Marsh Lousewort and Devil’s-bit Scabious present. It is also the home of a colony of Marsh Fritillary

12 butterflies. Marsh Fritillaries have declining severely across Europe over the past few decades, which is why they are at the forefront of most of our conservation management decisions on this reserve.

One of the main threats facing Marsh Fritillaries is habitat fragmentation. They are particularly vulnerable as they exist as part of a metapopulation that spreads across large areas of suitable connecting habitat. This keeps the population robust and protects it from localised colony crashes. However, when the connecting habitat is broken up through development or bad land management, this creates big problems for the metapopulation’a survival. This was why we were extremely happy when Carmarthenshire County Council first proposed their plans to buy 7.43 hectares of declining habitat next door to our reserve. The habitat was declining due to lack of grazing over many years, allowing the grasses to become rank and too dominant, with further issues of scrub encroachment.

Carmarthenshire County Council bought the land, Brynwithan, as part of their Caeau Mynydd Mawr Marsh Fritillary project, a scheme which offsets the pressures of development on this European protected butterfly, and is funded by contributions from development in the area. Since the purchase of Brynwithan in October 2014 we have worked closely together, such as grazing the land as one unit, and using the same grazier, this is helping to restore Brynwithan. The council are funding our ongoing management at Rhos Cefn Bryn and have paid for additional habitat management improvement work such as Soft Rush cutting. We also worked together to build a holding pen at the entrance to one of our fields. This is necessary for loading cattle safely, as well as to enable to us to TB test cattle when on our site.

Although the main thrust of our partnership work has been to graze the grassland in line with the Marsh Fritillary habitat needs, the work has also benefitted Dormice. Dormice are present on our reserve, mainly in a small copse at the top of one of our fields and in the large unmanaged hedges dividing the fields. Monitoring at Rhos Cefn Bryn has shown us that numbers of Dormice are good in the area. We have supported the council by installing and monitoring of Dormice boxes on their land. Results show Dormice activity across Brynwithan too. This is important in gaining a better understanding of where and how the Dormice are using the sites, and consequently how best to manage for them. Becca Killa Wildlife Trust Officer (Carmarthenshire)

A day in the life of the Skomer Assistant Warden

I wake up early often around sunrise (it’s worth noting that on the mainland I’m a night owl, but the island changes me!) and try to drink a cup of tea before I can get to anything else. During migration season I’ll head out and check what birds are around the farm or in one of the valleys, or often have to head out to check on a collapsed burrow in the path, luckily this year 4/5 have been unoccupied and suitable for collapsing (forcing the unwilling shearwaters to make a new burrow, hopefully this time not under or close to a footpath), the occupied burrows Giving welcome talks, photo by David Astins need patching up such that people can walk safely over them without collapsing it further, and the growing shearwater is protected from the elements and predators.

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Around half 8, I’ll pop into the volunteers’ kitchen next door and give them an update on what’s going on that day. The weekly volunteers are entirely occupied with managing day trippers, and only if the island is closed on a Monday, or a windy day, do they have any time to help with maintenance or surveys. For me there’s just enough time to add bracken to the compost loos, make sure all the gates and doors are shut around the farm before the day trippers arrive, and head down to morning boats.

From 9:30 till 12:45 I’ll be at the sales point with 2 volunteers, welcoming 50 people at half an hour intervals, ensuring no one loiters too long on the steps and delays the talk, or heads off without hearing it. I then give my 10 minute welcome talk, which after giving roughly 300 times, I am quite happy with and actually get a few compliments on. A few people normally hang around for a while and I answer questions and give advice as to where to go. By the time the sales point has emptied, the next boat is on its way, and the process starts again. If we have any time between boats, it’s normally taken repairing the benches, clearing the steps of rocks and soil kicked down there by puffins and rabbits, and cutting back nettles and bracken overhanging the path.

After boats we head back to the farm for lunch, the volunteers then head out on patrol, making sure visitors to the island will be back in time for their boats, and are following the rules of the island. I then have some time to catch up on emails, change gas bottles and often there is some maintenance work, like repainting the boat shed. The majority of the survey work has to be done outside of day-tripper hours, particularly if it involves walking off paths, so often the afternoons and evenings are taken up with this, or with meeting volunteers. By 9pm it’s time to do birdlog, which with all the chat and discussion that goes along with it normally takes an hour. Time to collapse into bed ready for another day.

The day is incredibly variable with time of year, how Re-rendering the boat shed. Photo credit Eddie Stubbings. many people come onto the island and which surveys need doing. Sarah Purdon Skomer Assistant Warden

2.2 Habitat management

This section describes the nature of our habitat management on WTSWW reserves and on third party owned land, including through our wider countryside projects. There are no very significant changes in the distribution of time this year, and those that do appear generally reflect the focus of particular funded projects or seasonal shifts in priority. The increase for a second year running in site visits, maintenance and health and safety (H&S) partly reflects improved reporting. Control of non-native species (the greatest proportion of which reflects the Mid Wales Red Squirrel Project, but with a high investment also recorded in terrestrial plants on nature reserves) remains the dominant management type by staff days.

Activity Staff days (‘16-’17) Staff days (‘17-’18) Control invasive non-native species 275 267 Scrub control 136 163 Site visits, maintenance, H&S 61 156 Mowing/cutting open habitats 77 111 Coppicing woodland 99 78 Thinning woodland 115 52

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Fencing 47 42 Grazing (arranging, supporting) 19 18 Removing waste materials 38 15 Hedge-laying 5 13 Managing ponds, ditches etc 16 9 Species based interventions 18 9 Installing nest & bat boxes 13 4 Planting woodland 1 3 Sowing 1 1 Seed collection 5 0

Such habitat management regularly brings together the best elements of WTSWW’s work: managing nature reserves, working with partners such as NRW, and engaging with volunteers. As such it is best represented by a number of case studies from the year.

Tree popping in Ceredigion

In early 2017 I was introduced to “treepoppers”: a large metal bar that clamps around the base of a small tree (up to about 6cm) and levers it out of the ground, including roots. Or that’s the theory! This began a change in how we remove scrub from our Ceredigion grasslands, hopefully to a longer term approach. Previously scrub trees had been cut off as low as possible. This is initially a faster method but the regrowth needs re-cutting a few years later. Removing them with the roots, though taking longer in the short term, is hopefully more permanent and will save work and time in the long run.

Since buying our first treepoppers we have learnt a lot about them and refined the techniques needed to be successful where we are working. It turns out that willows in rhos pasture don’t just “pop” out. It’s more of a wrestle in a mud bath! And you have to make sure you get the (many) roots out. Our tool arsenal now includes garden forks (to loosen the tree), wooden planks (to stop the popper sinking in the mud), loppers, saws and a couple of old door hinges (for chasing out long roots), along with wellies and clothes to get covered in mud!!! The size of tree we will tackle has also increased- trees we’d previously left have now gone.

Along with the willows at Rhos Pil Bach we’ve removed blackthorn at Caeau Llety Cybi, Rhos Marion and Rhos Glyn yr Helyg along with various species at Coed Maidie B Goddard. Blackthorn usually doesn’t just pop either; you have to chase the roots, which often lead to another tree.

It’s a pleasure to come across an alder or a birch that does just pop! We’ve also tried popping bramble- it kind of works with older plants!

The treepoppers are heavy though (5kg for the medium or 7kg for the large “grandpop”) and with all the other tools and uneven, boggy ground it’s a very tiring

day- the volunteers definitely deserve their biscuits! Em Foot Wildlife Trust Officer (Ceredigion)

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Overton Mere – grazing is amazing

WTSWW’s suite of reserves on the South Gower coast near the villages of Port Eynon and Overton, on the stretch of coast heading west towards Rhossili, total nearly 58 hectares of calcareous grassland. It could be argued by a biased Wildlife Trust Officer that they are possibly the most beautiful and important nature reserves in WTSWW’s ownership. They are part of Gower AONB, Heritage Coast, SSSI and of international importance, forming part of the Limestone Coast Special Area of Conservation (SAC). With an estimated 20,000 visitors per year using the Wales Coast Path, which passes through all of the reserves, appreciating the stunning views, rugged cliffs, marine and bird life and the very special flora which is found here.

Among these reserves is Overton Mere (11ha) noted for its assemblage of scarce plants such as Basil Thyme, Goldilocks Aster, Spiked Speedwell and Hoary Rock-rose. Purchased by the Trust in 1963 the reserve was grazed by a local farmer with ponies until the early 1980s, this is when grazing ceased. Without grazing animals on the reserve the calcareous grassland, heath and scree gradually became dominated by Common Gorse. The Trust acquired the grazing rights in 1996 but the challenges of grazing this site vexed my predecessors and myself. This led to years of unsustainable hand-cutting of gorse by volunteers and staff, but it was impossible to keep ahead of the growth. As the fire load increased areas of the reserve had fallen to arsonists too, the last fire was in 2006 – grazing was identified as the only way to protect these important habitats.

During 2017 a partnership was formed between WTSWW, NRW, PONT, Gower Meadow Beef & Tor Coed Welsh Mountain Ponies. With some funding from NRW and a small grant from the Gower Landscape Partnership covering the capital costs of preparing the site, fencing, water troughs etc. And with support from a major donor, and players of Peoples Postcode Lottery, helping to fund staff time, we set about preparing the reserve to receive grazing animals.

We had to fence parts of the site to stop escaping ponies or cattle heading across the beach and on to the headland towards the campsite and village at Port Eynon. We also had to fence and gate parts of the reserve to reduce confrontations between visitors to the site and livestock. Water pipes had to be laid into the site and a trough installed. One of the biggest and most time consuming of tasks was the clearing of gorse, to open up the reserve so the animals could graze effectively and to provide escape routes and open space for the livestock if arsonists struck again.

With the site prepared, the first grazing animals in over 35 years were introduced to the reserve in December 2017. Three Dexter cattle and two Welsh Mountain ponies were turned out. Little did we know how only then was our work beginning, with the animals finding any weak points in our boundaries and the challenges of reconciling local reserve users, the animals and a very wet winter. Grazing and monitoring is now ongoing with stocking numbers being adjusted to suit as the reserve develops. Next we hope to replicate the project onto one or both of our neighbouring reserves – grazing works and it’s a pleasure to see cattle and ponies on the cliffs.

Paul Thornton Senior Wildlife Trust Officer (Swansea, Neath & Port Talbot)

Nature Reserve Management: the BCS Bank Commander

This machine was bought in 2016 with the intention of using it to cut the newly created scrapes fields at Parc Slip; the rush is dense and the terrain unforgiving with steep slopes, and very wet claggy soil that stays wet in cutting season, from September until May.

We chose the Rolls Royce of the range which is the 630ws Bank Commander. This unit is built for bank work, particularly the steering which is far more positive as it uses a clutch and brake system. Subject to other factors, can operate on slopes up to 40 degrees. This unit also has the three forward/reverse speeds and travel speed.

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We also bought the Twin wheel kit also due to the steepness of the banks we were going to cut. We first used it in September at Parc Slip on the Scrapes field in September after nesting season, and it really was superb at cutting the dense rush in some difficult muddy areas, where most tractors feared to go. It did leave a lot of cut material down, and is quite labour intensive picking this up, but with a small army of willing volunteers this was achievable.

We have since gone on and used this on other reserves cutting meadows even dense scrub, it is easy to transport and great in less accessible places.

Tim Jones Wildlife Trust Officer (Cardiff, Bridgend, Valleys & Vale)

2.3 Research

The conservation movement as a whole has been criticised in the past for its failure to engage in and learn from current research and latest knowledge. At WTSWW we work hard to address this issue, by building relationships with universities in our area of operation, supporting many students to work with us during their studies, and trialling new techniques and reporting the outcomes of our own work wherever we can. We have been fortunate to continue to benefit from strong partnerships with many academic institutions, particularly Cardiff, Swansea and Aberystwyth Universities, and UK-wide institutions through their involvement in the Pembrokeshire Islands.

In the current reporting year we are supporting a number of postgraduate students in both Cardiff and Aberystwyth universities to undertake studies relevant to our area of work through the KESS programme.

In 2017 we did not publish a research report, but instead to give a flavour of some of the work undertaken, particularly in this case by students and volunteers, we summarise two projects undertaken on Skomer in 2017 by the resident long term volunteers.

The Shore Clingfish on Skomer

Over the April-July period as a Long-Term Volunteer, I undertook my personal project on the Shore Clingfish (Lepadogaster lepadogaster), a species that have never been studied on Skomer before. The Shore Clingfish is a small cryptobenthic organism that is abundant across the west and south west coasts of the United Kingdom. It is immediately recognisable from its duck-like mouth and two blue spots on the top of its head. They have specially adapted pelvic fins that have fused to form a sucker which anchors the fish to the rocks it inhabits.

I wanted to find out more about the life history traits of the Clingfish with a focus on seasonality and their breeding cycle. Specifically, I wanted to know: (a) the zonation of Clingfish across the shore, (b) whether the proportion of fish changed over a nine-week period, (c) document the developmental stages of egg clusters to monitor whether there was a noticeable change and, (d) record the egg developmental rate.

On all visits, no Clingfish or egg clusters were found in the middle shore transect. The first Clingfish was seen out of my visits on a preliminary sample on the 9th April and the first eggs on 23rd April.

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The proportion of adults was higher than eggs, the average proportion was 0.83 clingfish to 0.17 total egg clusters. The third and sixth visit showed the highest number of new eggs of 11 and 12. The highest number of total egg clusters was found on one visit, with 15 in total (see below).

16 14 12 10

8 6 4

2 TotalNumber of Eggs 0

Cumulative number of total eggs per visit. Highest number of total eggs found on the seventh visit. The total number of eggs does not account for eggs that may have hatched, been predated or lost.

The eggs did not cope well in a lab environment, making it difficult to provide an estimate of hatch duration, however clear developmental stages were seen in the lab and field. From observations, it is thought that there are four visual changes to the eggs before they hatch. At a rough estimate, I would say the eggs take 12 days to develop and hatch.

I hope that the next 2017 long-term volunteers will enjoy continuing this experiment to determine the seasonality and breeding cycle of the shore Clingfish. A good preliminary study has been completed with ideas for future direction considered for more robust results in the future, including the recording of other variables discussed.

Ruby Temple-Long Skomer Long-term Volunteer 2017

The Marine Fauna of North Haven, Skomer

The aim of the project was to make a record of the marine fauna of North Haven, as well as to compare the fauna found in two separate areas of the haven, the kelp forests at the cliffs edge, and the bed of Eel Grass that occupies much of the centre of North Haven. This project came about as a result of discussions with both the wardens of Skomer Island and the NRW staff at the Skomer Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ), where it was realised that there was very little record of the variety of species that could be found within these murky depths. It was helped in no small measure by my love of the sea and free diving!

The project had two main components, the first being the use of an underwater camera mounted on a metal frame that was placed on the sea floor. The camera was set on time lapse for around 45 minutes, taking one photo every half second. These photos could then be viewed as a film which showed all the fish species that had passed in front of the camera during the 45 minutes of recording while there was no human impact to scare or attract certain species. The second component involved myself snorkeling and diving along the kelp forest and noting the species that occurred there. By using these two separate methods I was able to observe not just larger fish species, but also much smaller species, both vertebrates and invertebrates in an effort to gain a reasonably accurate understanding of the underwater fauna of the bay.

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Sea Bass (Dicentrachus labrax) seen on the underwater camera. Overall the project was successful, not to mention interesting! A total of 75 species were recorded from 14 different phyla. The vast majority of these species were recorded while snorkeling and diving, with only a relatively small contingent being recorded on the camera. The camera did however record species that were not seen during snorkeling sessions on the same day, with sea bass being especially common on camera. Notable species included sea bass, and a small population of king scallop just off the kelp forest on the sandy floor. Of personal interest were the Feather Star (which marked the first time I have ever seen one), the Jewel Anemones which cover areas of rocky overhang with spectacular swathes of fluorescent colour and the ethereal twin spire Fan Worms, the tentacular crown of which resembles a ghostly white flower protruding from rocky crevices. Perhaps the most common species of vertebrate seen were the Ballan Wrasse and Gold Sinny, both of which could be found in abundance drifting silently through the kelp forests. On the invertebrate side, Ctenophores (comb jellies) far outnumbered anything else, with Sea Gooseberrys occurring in very large numbers during favorable conditions. The kelp forest recorded significantly higher numbers of species than were seen in the seagrass beds.

Total Polychaetes Total Bryozoans Total Mammals Total Sea Squirst

Total Ascidians Total Molluscs Total Echinoderms Total Sponges Faunal Groups Faunal Total Hydroids Total Cnidarians ataotal Ctenophores Total Crustaceans Total Teleost

0 5 10 15 20 Total Species

Bar Chart showing the total number of species found in each group of organisms recorded.

While this project was both interesting to carry out and enjoyable for myself, there certainly were problems associated with it. In the seagrass bed the fragmented nature of the habitat, coupled with the jerky frame rate of the time lapse camera, meant that it was difficult to spot animals moving through the sea grass. Furthermore, the decreased visibility over the seagrass beds (likely due to the sandier substrate compared to the kelp forest) meant that it is possible that species were under recorded in a way that was not seen in the kelp forest. Future efforts may find a continual film better than time lapse (although this does come with its own difficulties); for some reason the camera stopped filming after 15 minutes. Further, due to the fact that I was diving without the use of a breathing apparatus, I was limited to 2-3 minutes of time when exploring underwater. This undoubtedly has led to a under recording of a number of species, particularly small well hidden organisms such as nudibranchs, or highly cryptic organisms, such as certain species of Innachus Spider Crab that were recorded in the sea grass beds. Certain species will have been under recorded due to my own unfamiliarity with them. A more detailed investigation on sponges for example would

19 doubtless show a much greater diversity than the three recorded species.

Even with the above issues, this survey project clearly shows that the waters of North Haven support a wonderful diversity of life, and that the sea surrounding Skomer hold just as many treasures as the island itself.

My thanks go to both the wardens of Skomer Island (Ed and Bee) for facilitating this project, as well as to the staff of the Skomer MCZ, for allowing me to use their underwater camera and mount.

Jake Taylor-Bruce Skomer Long-term Volunteer 2017

2.4 Recording and monitoring

A key part of any site’s management is the recording and monitoring of its conservation features, allowing us to assess whether or not they are in favourable condition, and allowing us to complete the feedback loop and adjust our management of the sites and our advocacy work accordingly. A total of 2326 person days were recorded in this area of work during 2017-2018. The major contributors to this are the marine monitoring work undertaken at Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre, squirrel monitoring undertaken by the Mid Wales Red Squirrel Project team, and seabird monitoring on Skomer and Skokholm. Many additional unrecorded days are also undertaken by mainland volunteers, who report results to us but whose investment of time is not currently well captured.

The table below summarises staff effort (and the volunteer effort recorded in direct support of these staff days; many independent volunteer days are not currently well captured) on survey and monitoring, on our own nature reserves, and on private land. Project totals for Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre and the Red Squirrel Project are not included in this breakdown, neither are the islands; the purpose of this table is to capture the investment in the ongoing investment in survey and monitoring on the features of more local sites.

Survey or monitoring activity Staff days Volunteer days Amphibians 3 5 Bastard balm 1 1 Bats 4 3 Bioblitz 1 12 Bird ringing 3 126 Breeding birds 17 33 Brown hairstreak 2 18 Bryophytes 5 5 Bumblebees 1 0 Butterflies 5 1 Dormouse 25 72 Fen raft spider 1 0 Fungi 1 8 Goldilocks aster 0 0 Invertebrates 2 1 Lapwing 6 22 Lichens 1 0 Marsh fritillary 4 10 Medicinal leech 1 0

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Mink 4 6 Moths 24 4 Orchid 1 3 Otter 1 6 Pond 1 4 Reptiles 6 2 Sea stock 2 0 Squirrel 7 1 Strandline beetle 5 0 Vegetation / habitat 27 34 Water vole 18 8 Willow blister 1 1 Yellow whitlow-grass 1 0

Pied Flycatcher at Taf Fechan

The European Pied Flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca) travels all the way from sub Saharan Africa to the UK in April time, making it one of the last summer migrants to reach Britain. They head to our upland deciduous woodlands in western and northern Britain to breed. The males are smart black and white birds, about the size of Robins, and the females look similar but brown replaces the black. The song of the Pied Flycatcher is high-pitched and melodic, but weak, and is greatly reduced once a mate has been found, making them difficult to detect as they dart about in the tree canopy.

Pied Flycatchers are undergoing a widespread moderate decline, which is thought to be due to changes in its African wintering grounds, or at migration stop-off points such as northern Spain and Italy. In the UK we can help to conserve Pied Flycatcher populations by providing nesting boxes which they will readily use, and by maintaining appropriate habitat for these birds in their summer territory.

Pied Flycatchers nest in tree-holes and prefer open woodland, with scattered mature trees and a sparse well-grazed understory. At Taf Fechan nature reserve in Merthyr Tydfil, the open pasture beneath the trees is suitable for Pied Flycatchers, but the steep and free-draining banks of the valley do not support many mature trees, as they tend to fall over shortly after they’ve reach maturity or once they’ve died. So to compensate for the reduced number of old, holey trees at Taf Fechan, the Wildlife Trust has provided nesting boxes for the Pied Flycatcher.

This spring our wonderful volunteers set out to prepare Taf Fechan for the arrival of Pied Flycatchers. In previous years over 60 nest boxes have been put up in the trees, but as it was my first breeding bird season as warden at Taf Fechan I wanted to locate and check these nest boxes for damage, so the volunteers and I walked through the woodland scanning the tree trunks for nest boxes and recording their locations using a GPS. Then began a number of weeks of replacing missing nest boxes and repairing others by giving them new roofs or felting, and wiring the lids shut to prevent squirrels from getting in to the boxes. Some of the entrance holes into the nest boxes had been widened by woodpeckers or squirrels, so we put metal patches on them to reduce the hole sizes back to 28mm which is suitable for Pied Flycatchers. The new boxes were named and maps were created to help us carry out the survey work that followed.

We have now been monitoring these boxes every week since the end of April, and sit for 15 minutes on the woodland floor to watch each box and record which birds are using them. Nest boxes are normally occupied in early spring by Blue Tits and Great Tits, but by positioning the boxes in pairs, many boxes remain empty because the birds defend their territory fiercely and prevent other tits from moving into the neighbouring boxes. This gives the Pied Flycatcher a good chance of having a box

21 ready for nesting when they arrive, and on the 3rd May a male Pied Flycatcher was seen singing in the treetops at Taf Fechan. He has been singing for the past 5 weeks but we haven’t yet seen a female, so we believe he is currently still waiting for a mate. We are very hopeful that this Pied Flycatcher will use our nest boxes to breed and continue our

population of Pied Flycatchers at Taf Fechan into the future. Lorna Baggett Reserves Officer (Valleys)

2.5 Volunteers

Total volunteer hours donated to the Conservation Team can be difficult to record, as some input is on a more casual basis and full paper records are not kept in all cases.

However, during 2017-2018, we again estimate that our team engaged with around 600 volunteers and many more on a more casual (very short term) basis, and 343 new volunteers were recruited during the year. This includes ‘hotspots’ of activity include the Pembrokeshire Islands, CBMWC, flagship reserves such as Parc Slip and Teifi Marshes, and groups associated with the Wildlife Trust Officers. A total of 712 individual volunteer workparty dates were led by Conservation Team staff (slightly down on the previous year’s figure of 737). These figures do not include the additional, significant amount of work delivered by WTSWW’s local volunteer groups, particularly at Lavernock Point, Cwm Clettwr and Coed y Bwl.

We estimate the volunteer contribution directly to our team to be 7236 person days during the year 2017-2018. This is an increase on the figure of 6804 in ’16-’17 and again from 6366 from 2015-16 (the third consecutive rise, and despite the small fall in reserve workparty dates). It cannot be over-stated how important this contribution is to our ongoing conservation work; much of what we do, particularly in the routine but critical maintenance of our nature reserves and recording, could not be done without this volunteer contribution. In capacity terms, it effectively doubles our team in terms of number of worked days.

The four case studies below reflect the diversity of volunteer involvement. Two are authored by volunteers.

Volunteer-led Surveys for Red Squirrels

The Red Squirrel Officer has been busy setting up volunteer- led camera trap surveys. This is part of an on-going process to try to get a better idea of which forests Red Squirrels are using in the Mid Wales Red Squirrel Focal Site (MWRSFS) and which forests are not currently being used by Red Squirrels. Survey techniques for finding Red Squirrels in the remote and dense forests of mid Wales need to be bespoke, as the habitat and terrain presents unique challenges. Methodology has been honed as volunteer experience has fed into the process.

There has been a steep learning curve, both for staff and volunteers; challenges have been presented by volunteers lone-working on remote sites, sometimes in severe weather conditions, leading to surveys being temporarily called off. The process has been exciting at times, new discoveries about

22 the Red Squirrel population in mid wales have been an exhilarating incentive for volunteers.

Over the course of the year, eight volunteers monitored trail cameras and feeding stations for Red Squirrels, known as camera traps, at different locations in the MWRSFS. In all Red Squirrels were recorded on four of these sites. Over spring, a Red Squirrel became a regular visitor to a MWRSFS volunteer’s bird table. Another highlight during spring 2018 was the appearance of up to 5 Red Squirrels at one of our long-term feeders; the trail camera produced some interesting footage of mating behaviour. The data from this camera is logged by a dedicated volunteer, this helps to reveal patterns of behaviour at this site and flags up potential issues. The volunteer that monitors this camera trap collected hair samples over the course of the year, using a sticky pad attached to the lid of a feeder box. The hairs were sent for genetic analysis and results have shown two different haplotypes, a known Welsh haplotype and a unique haplotype not previously recorded, suggesting that the mid Wales forests are an important site for the conservation of British Red Squirrels.

The increased presence of Pine Martens in the MWRSFS

appears to have discouraged Red Squirrels from using the feeders where they are being accessed by Pine Martens. A survey carried out by a volunteer in the south and mid Tywi Forest between July and September 2017 failed to find any Red Squirrels using the nine feeders that were in place. However, the camera did record several Pine Martens on eight of the nine cameras. It is thought that the Pine Martens were an adult female, introduced into the area by the Vincent Wildlife Trust as part of their Pine Marten Restoration Project, along with her three young. A remote camera and feeder monitored by school pupils in woodland near Cwrt y Cadno also had a Pine Marten visiting the feeder for a period of time. Red Squirrels were absent until an individual appeared on camera during March 2018. This Red Squirrel only stayed on the feeder for a short period; however this demonstrates that in some situations Pine Martens and Red Squirrels will use the same feeder, albeit cautiously.

A survey in Esgair Dafydd Forest led by volunteer Paul Harry was hampered by both the presence of Grey Squirrels on feeders and by severe weather conditions. Prior to setting up a full camera trap survey, Paul captured footage of a Red Squirrel in this woodland on a trail camera focused on the ground, known as a ‘ground cam’. Three months of monitoring with eleven camera traps followed. The severely cold weather caused difficulties with managing this survey, as the site became inaccessible at times. However, despite best efforts, no further Red Squirrels were seen on camera during this period. Unfortunately several Grey Squirrels were recorded using the feeders; once detected, the feeders were removed and disinfected before re-erecting. Five Grey Squirrels were dispatched on site. In March 2018 as Paul was taking down the survey equipment, he decided to set up a ground cam once again; and to everyone’s surprise recorded a Red Squirrel on camera. We suspect that Grey Squirrels were dominating the feeders, and therefore the Red Squirrels in the forest were reluctant to use them.

As a result of Paul’s survey findings, we have modified our approach to surveying for Red Squirrels in mid Wales, and are now using a combination of camera traps and ground cams, and reverting to ground cams and live trapping of Grey Squirrels when Grey Squirrels appear on camera. This method has been successful at Clywedog Forest, where another volunteer-led survey has recorded Red Squirrels on two ground cams.

The information gleaned from volunteer-led surveys could help improve conditions for Red Squirrels, informing where conservation actions such as habitat improvements and Grey Squirrel control are required. Without the massive time- commitment, initiative and dedication of survey volunteers, none of this data could have been recorded. Becky Hulme Mid Wales Red Squirrel Officer

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Skokholm Wheatear Project 2017/2018

April 2017 saw the start of a project studying the Wheatear Oenanthe oenanthe on Skokholm. The key aims of the project are to determine the:

 adult survival rate  juvenile survival rate  recruitment to and relationships within the population  number of pairs and productivity.

The project continues the work carried out by Peter Conder published in 1989 in his monograph - ‘The Wheatear’. Peter (a former PoW and one of the subjects of the book ‘Birds in a Cage’) was an early warden of Skokholm Bird Observatory and his book draws heavily on the research he conducted on the island between 1947 & 1953. He later became director of the RSPB and oversaw its transformation into a leading conservation organisation. The current work will develop Peter’s findings and enhance our understanding of how the © Ian Beggs population functions.

Key to this study is to tag the birds with a colour ring containing a field readable alpha numeric (A01, A02 etc). This is a formal ringing project authorised by the BTO and logged on the pan-European colour ringing database. This brings in secondary benefits:

 potential to record movements outside of the breeding territory  observations of specific (and potentially new) individual behaviour  engagement of island visitors by their helping to read the rings, understanding the history and the ‘Conder’ story  involvement of the wider community via social media, primarily by a daily ‘tweet’ during the fieldwork months

Already there have been a few notable records, although we are a long way from being able to publish any findings.

 105 birds have been colour ringed to date  The Potential for identification of different routes taken by young birds on their autumn and subsequent spring migrations has become apparent. A departing bird was seen in Kent whilst a returning bird was seen in Cornwall before arriving back to Skokholm.  2017/18 winter survival: adult male - 64% (national expectancy 50%) adult female - 44% (national expectancy 42%) combined - 53% (national expectancy 45%) juvenile – 25% (no existing national expectancy data)  25 breeding pairs in 2017; 17 in 2018  Over 1,000 hours of field work

The project is being carried out by Ian Beggs on a volunteer basis. Ian Beggs Skokholm Island Volunteer

Student placement year at Parc Slip 2017-18

From 11th September to 26th June I was the placement student with WTSWW for my professional training year as part of my Cardiff University Biology degree. Throughout my time with the Trust I developed an understanding of what is involved when working for a conservation charity and gained

24 extensive practical experience in conservation, education and engagement.

A broad part of my time with the Trust was split between working at four reserves, Parc Slip, Coed y Bedw, Cwm Colhuw and Coed Garnllwyd, under the supervision of Vaughn Matthews. Through this time the versatile nature of conservation work was highlighted to me, with each reserve having specific management requirements and different species to cater for. Whilst working on these reserves I was alerted to the sensitivity of the seasons, with different work being performed at different times of year. During the winter months I was involved with coppicing and nest box maintenance on the woodland reserves, scrub management throughout the year, and breeding bird surveys and dormouse tube checks in the spring and summer months. Working with volunteer work parties and seeing how the reserves change with the seasons was one of my favourite experiences whilst working with the Trust.

The necessary tasks of litter picking and poo patrols alerted me to the negative impacts visitors can have on a reserve. Despite this, the importance of volunteers and public support to the Trust was made apparent and I was able to be involved in many events informing people about the work of the Trust. These included dressing up in a beaver costume to entertain and inform the public in various towns of South Wales, and engaging with people

on the WTSWW stalls at RHS Cardiff and Glamorgan Bird Club Big Bird Weekend. Education is a rewarding and key part of the work performed by the Trust and I experienced some of the education events performed by WTSWW, including reptile rambles and moth mornings alongside school visits to Parc Slip and Dow Corning.

Alongside working as part of the dedicated conservation team, I was given the opportunity to design and implement a research project following recent habitat creation works within areas of conifer forest at Parc Slip. Using a combination of artificial cover sheets and visual searching, I surveyed these sites over a period of four months, collecting reptile species richness and usage data to determine the degree to which the habitat creation works were a success. The habitat creation on the West side of the reserve was highly successful, with all four reptile species observed utilising the windrow for basking. Through this research I have experienced first hand the unpredictable but rewarding nature of ecological research and gained valuable skills in research design.

Being the placement student with WTSWW has been a fabulous way to spend 9 months and has provided me with a wealth of invaluable practical experience. It has been a pleasure to work with the staff of WTSWW and I would highly recommend getting involved and volunteering with the Trust.

Lily Ginns Student volunteer placement

2.6 Public access management

After habitat management, the creation and maintenance of public access to our nature reserves is the most significant time and financial commitment that the Conservation Team makes in terms of management of our nature reserves.

Providing good public access is essential to the delivery of our remit to inspire and engage others. However, this requires the access to be safe and appropriate, and also where possible to be accompanied by such interpretative material as is necessary and desirable to help visitors make the most of their visit and take our conservation message away with them.

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The table below shows the number of staff days spent working on areas associated with public access (through the leading of volunteer work parties and individual site visits). There has been an increase in the time invested in supporting visitor access, in maintenance rather than installing new infrastructure (a reflection of past grant investment in infrastructure that is now requiring repair effort, and the reduced availability of new grant funding). Tree safety work continues to be a major cost of both staff time and cash resources.

Access work Number of staff days Previous year Clear of vegetation 139 108 Maintain/repair infrastructure 65 41 Install new infrastructure 37 43 Resurface 11 5 Clearing litter 13 25 Tree safety work 37 33 Clearing dog mess 1 6 Total 302 264

This was backed up by an additional 720 volunteer days. In total, clearing litter alone took 13 staff days- less than the previous year, but still a major commitment that also took up 50 days of volunteer time- time that could be spent more constructively on positive conservation action.

In total, 1022 staff and volunteer person days were spent creating and managing visitor access infrastructure to our nature reserves. This figure is focussed on physical access infrastructure, but of course on the Pembrokeshire Islands, many extra days are spent in supervising and informing safe and informative visitor access in addition to this total.

This year we have chosen two case studies that reflect the diversity of direct and partnership effort that Conservation Team staff face in providing public access to wild places.

Woodland Access Work in the Vale of Glamorgan

The last few months has seen the usual range of access work carried out by staff and volunteers in the reserves in the Vale of Glamorgan. At Coed Llwyn Rhyddid and Cwm Colhuw the paths are regularly kept clear of vegetation and new stiles have been installed at both sites. An extra challenge is provided at Cwm Colhuw due to the Scheduled Ancient Monument on the site which meant that we couldn’t dig holes to put the step supports in…

At Lavernock Point the dedicated volunteer group who look after the site keep paths clear as well as maintaining access, on behalf of Cadw, to the gun batteries that are present there and a popular aspect of the reserve. Another reserve in which the majority of the work is volunteer-led is Coed y Bwl – here the Bridgend Group keep the paths passable and inform the Trust of dangerous trees that need dealing with and other issues that arise.

At Coed Garnllwyd we were very grateful for the assistance provided by students from Pencoed College who helped us install new steps on the steep footpath running through the woodland. They were enthusiastic and hard-working (and very muddy by the end!) – it made the job much quicker and more enjoyable and hopefully gave them an appreciation of some of the work needed to maintain a nature reserve. Vaughn Matthews Conservation Officer

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Access Management at the Teifi Marshes

Of the 100 or so nature reserves the Wildlife Trust manages in south and west Wales, most of them have some form of access provided for visitors. At Teifi Marshes nature reserve in north Pembrokeshire, where our Welsh Wildlife Visitor Centre is located, over 80,000 visitors pass through this site each year. The 107-hectare reserve has a network of roughly 8.5km of access routes catering to a range of user groups. Managing and maintaining these paths takes up a lot of staff and volunteer time yet they are key to enabling visitors to experience and immerse themselves in the natural world around them.

Of the 8.5km of paths at Teifi Marshes, nearly 1.1km are raised boardwalks. Most of these structures were erected some 15 years ago now and although Wildlife Trust volunteers actively maintain and repair them when needed, nearly all are in state of disrepair and are going to become real health and safety issues to visitors to the reserve.

In 2017, we were successful in obtaining grant funding from the Tesco’s ‘Bags of Help’ scheme to erect and replace a 120m section of boardwalk on the Wetland Trail but there is still a 570m section that needs attention. Of this, a 370m length is so bad that as of 2018 we have taken the decision to close it. This popular circular walk is therefore now not open to visitors although access is still possible to the bird hides and viewing areas that lead off it. The remaining 200m that needs work is still being maintained through volunteer effort although this is also very soon to become unsafe and threatened with closure.

The cost for replacing the closed section comes in at just over £51,000, with the remaining 200m section at £30,600. Any new structures erected are of recycled plastic although decking is still timber to save on cost and to also replace easily should we need to.

This is a cost that the Wildlife Trust cannot cover in house and so we are now actively looking for grant funding. The hope is to be able to secure funding and erect a new boardwalk before summer 2019. However, with fewer funding opportunities available and even less for such large capital spends, it may take considerably longer. This is sadly an issue not only at Teifi Marshes nature reserve yet at many others under our management.

Despite the sad news of the state of the boardwalks, the rest of the paths on the reserve are in generally a good condition and require little work with the exception of clearing vegetation that encroaches them during summer months.

Nathan Walton Wildlife Trust Officer (Pembrokeshire)

2.7 Interpretation

Maintaining and delivering new interpretative material for our nature reserves and visitor centres is an ongoing area of work for our Conservation Team, usually dependent upon staff securing external funds such as grants. This year’s case study was part of a major programme of public engagement work in Cardiff supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery.

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A Pop-up Wildlife Garden in Bute Park, Cardiff

Our capital city is home to lots of exciting and sometimes even rare wildlife. Hazel Dormice, Great Crested Newts and waxcap fungi are among just a few of the species that would be the pride of any nature reserve area flourishing in our wild city. Cardiff even has its own species of wildflower!

My Wild Cardiff is a WTSWW project all about looking after this wonderful wildlife, by educating and inspiring people to care for Cardiff’s wildlife, through looking after the wild spaces we have and creating new habitat in our parks and gardens.

As part of this project, in summer 2017, WTSWW created a ‘Pop-up’ Wildlife Garden in Cardiff’s largest park, Bute Park. Designed by Shani Lawrence Garden Designs, the garden featured a pond, a living lawn, a green roof and plenty of homes for wildlife. The temporary garden inspired visitors from all parts of the country and gave them ideas as to how they can improve their own gardens for wildlife.

Rose Revera, who organised the garden through in her role as People and Wildlife Officer, said “Anything that people can do in their gardens to create more habitat for wildlife in the area will help species such as hedgehogs, bumblebees, butterflies and birds. Creating a network of green areas will strengthen the populations that are seriously struggling, rather than them being confined to a single green area with limited resources. We hope that our pop-up wildlife garden will educate and inspire people to help their wild neighbours.”

The garden was open to visitors from Monday 7th August until Sunday 6th August 2017, next to the Summerhouse Café in Bute Park and attracted approximately 1,300 visitors in the two weeks it was there. Some generous people also donated funds to us and we gave away numerous gardening advice leaflets.

During our time at Bute Park we kept a species list of all the wildlife that came to admire our pop up garden. Some of these species included a Hedgehog, a juvenile Robin who visited us consistently over a few days, a Hummingbird Hawk Moth was spotted around the flowers and a whole load of bumblebees, insects and birds also came to visit.

My Wild Cardiff is funded through the generous support of players of People’s Postcode Lottery.

3. Wider Countryside

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3.1 Introduction to our wider countryside work

Most of the work detailed so far has related to conservation delivery on our own land holding. Managing our nature reserves demands a great deal of investment of time and money, and protects many vulnerable habitats and species. However, we only really reach the scale of audience that we need to reach if we extend our work to the wider landscape, and to people and places wholly unconnected to our own sites. We deliver a great deal of work each year by working in partnership, and delivering species or habitat focussed projects at a wider landscape scale. Some of this work is described below.

3.2 Partnerships

Much of our wider countryside work is dependent upon working in partnership with government agencies, the private sector, and other conservation charities and volunteer groups. This extends our reach and influence and can also lead to increased ability to access funding, knowledge and skills. Because WTSWW is a local charity with staff based throughout our area, our staff are able to build very strong local links with other delivery partners and represent the Trust in local partnerships.

The Pembrokeshire Bird Group Partnership

The Pembrokeshire Bird Group is a section of WTSWW, and is a partnership that has existed for many years. It has a committee that runs it comprising of 9 members.

The aims of the Bird Group work within the objectives of the Wildlife Trust and are: to stand up for wildlife, to create and enhance wildlife havens, to educate and inspire people about the natural world and to grow resources for research, action and advocacy.

The group also acts as local monitors of activities in Pembrokeshire which may have an effect on nature conservation and to assist in answering local enquiries about wildlife and nature conservation, liaising with Wildlife Trust staff to provide a co-ordinated response.

Its membership is made up of a wide range of birders from those with many years of birding behind them, through to others who are just learning the basics. The interests of members range from ringing, to survey work, to just enjoying birds. As a section of the Wildlife Trust, the Bird Group does not have a separate membership subscription and its events are open to both members and non- members of the Wildlife Trust.

The group runs indoor and field events throughout the year and produces a newsletter that provides information on various aspects of birding in Pembrokeshire. It also has a website/blog that can be found here: http://pembrokeshirebirdgroup.blogspot.com. This fantastic resource provides the latest information on birding activities and sightings within the county. Along with this, the Bird Group holds an annual bird conference that takes place in November each year and is fantastically well supported.

Monies raised from activities run by the Bird Group go back towards the Wildlife Trust, supporting the management of its nature reserves within Pembrokeshire. These funds are used primarily for habitat work that enhance and protect bird species on Wildlife Trust sites yet also for bird-based infrastructure and information such as bird hides, interpretation and reports. Past and recent funding has enabled the installation of artificial sand martin banks at Teifi Marshes nature reserve along with replacing the roof on the Curlew hide and creating bird ID interpretation panels at the same site. Other support has been for the cost of seed and machinery for ploughing an area of land at Llangloffan Fen for a winter bird seed crop.

The partnership continues to grow stronger and this summer saw both the Bird Group and the Wildlife Trust hold a joint stand at the annual Pembrokeshire Agricultural Show, promoting and raising

29 awareness of issues facing birds and wildlife across the county and further afield. Nathan Walton Wildlife Trust Officer (Pembrokeshire)

Swift Tower at Cadoxton Ponds

WTSWW has worked for many years in partnership with Dow Silicones Ltd to deliver conservation and education work at their site in Barry.

This year a project was undertaken, by WTSWW, and funded by Dow Silicones Ltd, to install a Swift Tower, with solar-powered Swift caller on their Barry premises. A 2017 springtime bird count recorded 14 Swift calling over the Cadoxton side of the nature reserve, a good indication that Swifts are breeding locally. The solar powered call system (morning and evening), will hopefully to attract Swifts to the tower, offering a long term nesting site for up to 20 breeding pairs. This could have a positive impact on the local bird population.

To allow local residents to view the structure, and nesting birds, from outside the perimeter of the private nature reserve, the tower has been erected close to the reserve edge. Due to the structure’s height (5m), and position, local residents can easily view any nesting Swift family activity from the pathways outside the reserve, plus an interpretation panel is also are planned for the perimeter fence. Local bird watching groups and community groups have been invited onto the reserve and are able to arrange future visits. Catherine Lewis Education Officer

3.3 Representation on external committees

The Conservation Team represents WTSWW and the Wildlife Trusts in Wales on a number of local and national committees, and staff share their individual expertise on a wide range of external committees across our patch. This increases our networking opportunities, improves our partnership working, allows us to increase our reach through advocacy and lobbying, and helps us stay up to date with the latest developments in the wider policy world. The list below is not exhaustive but gives a flavour of the variety of panels, committees and partnership in which our staff were represented during 2017-18:

Bridgend Biodiversity Partnership Healthy Hillsides Partnership Caerphilly Biodiversity Partnership Mary Gillham Project Steering Group Carmarthenshire Nature Partnership Merthyr Tydfil Biodiversity Partnership Ceredigion Nature Partnership Mid Wales Red Squirrel Partnership Coed Lleol Mynydd Mawr Steering Group Dowrog Grazing Association Neath Port Talbot Biodiversity Partnership Gower AONB Grant Panel Pembrokeshire Biodiversity Partnership

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Pembrokeshire Bird Group Wales Mammal Biodiversity Action Forum Pembrokeshire Coastal Forum Wales Squirrel Forum Pembroke Millponds Action Group WBP Invasive Non-native Species Group Pembrokeshire Wildfire Group Welsh Beaver Project Steering Group RCT Biodiversity Partnership WTW Evidence & Knowledge Group Red Squirrels United WTW Living Seas Group Skomer MCZ Advisory Committee WTW Wider Countryside Group Swansea Biodiversity Partnership WWBIC Board of Directors Upper Ely Marsh Fritillary Steering Group Vale of Glamorgan Biodiversity Partnership

WTSWW staff are also engaged in a number of internal or affiliated groups, such as Local Group committees, the Islands Conservation Advisory Committee, and many more.

Arson management in the Valleys: Healthy Hillsides

We continue to be active members of the Healthy Hillsides partnership linking in the ethos of Local Wildlife Site management in to the strategies for reducing fuel load in the South Wales Valleys. This has involved attending regular group meetings and presenting the work carried out so far at various venues including a Wildfire Conference (presented with NRW) with representatives from across the UK and Wales. The partnership has provided support to our application to NRW for our Local to Landscape Links project and we continue to look for project funding to provide the capital investment that many of the (publically owned) sites need. The benefits of the partnership are already evident in the increased understanding of how positive habitat management is a key part of the solution within the South Wales Fire and Rescue Service. Sarah Woodcock Conservation Manager

3.4 Planning

Influencing local planning decisions, either through individual site casework or through responding to consultations on strategic documents, is a significant route through which WTSWW can influence the fate of wildlife in the wider countryside of south west Wales.

At present, WTSWW does not have the capacity to systematically review planning lists. However, we do engage in large, strategic individual developments such as the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon, or, for example, large applications such as poultry units or wind farms, which may represent significant threats. We also respond, when we can, to local applications flagged up by members and concerned members of the public.

An additional and important tool for WTSWW is to input to the large-scale strategic planning processes, which direct how smaller planning applications and land management will be guided and consented in the future.

Strategic Planning and Forest Management

NRW manage a large area of public woodland estate within the WTSWW area and it can, at times, be frustrating when trying to influence the management- even with dedicated programmes of work like the Mid Wales Red Squirrel Project where NRW are an active project partner.

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One mechanism is to influence and contribute towards strategic plans. NRW are currently drafting forest resource plans as their core management documents used on the Welsh Government’s Woodland Estate. They are intended to lay out “proposals for the future management of a woodland in accordance with current policy and practice. These plans are far reaching, with a strong emphasis on delivering social, economic and environmental benefits, incorporating the ecosystem approach to land management”.

As representatives of the Wider Landscape Group, Lizzie Wilberforce and Sarah Woodcock (along with Julian Jones of Radnorshire Wildlife Trust) met with representatives of NRW from the Natural Resources Planning, Forest Planning and Sustainable Land Management teams. We gained greater understanding of how the decision making process is developed and delivered, however we came up with no solution to the capacity issue in both organisations with regards contributions and influence on the ground. The forest resource plans do not consider localised issues highly relevant to wildlife. However there isn’t capacity within NRW to consult on the coupe level. It was suggested that contributing to the Area Statement process would be an opportunity for us to make representation that would influence forestry as it is a natural resource.

On the positive side there was appetite to look at more extensive grazing options using the examples of Wild Ennerdale (within the constraints of open access requirements and animal welfare). It was considered that even projects on this scale would still be considered to be a local decision and not feature within the resource plans. We look to submit the exploration of this in suitable forestry areas in to the developing Area Statements.

Overall we retain our concern over explicit action for wildlife within these overarching plans and will be looking to the Area Statements to ensure that key wildlife messages aren’t lost within NRWs use of new natural resources lexicon. Sarah Woodcock Conservation Manager

3.5 Consultation responses

Directly as WTSWW and also through contributions to responses led by Wales Environment Link (WEL) and Wildlife Trusts Wales (WTW), Conservation Team staff input into a number of consultation responses during 2017-2018. This is a key mechanism by which we can influence future policy and legislation in favour of the environment. Consultations in which we engaged included (but are not limited to):

 EIA Forestry regulations  Fixed Penalty Notices for Small-Scale Fly Tipping  Use of Shooting on Land Managed by NRW  Taking Forward Wales’ Sustainable Management of Natural Resources  Implementation of Sustainable Drainage Systems on New Developments  Grey Squirrel Management Action Plan  Sustainable Management Measures for the Welsh Whelk Fishery

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CASE STUDY: Sustainable Management Measures for the Welsh Whelk Fishery

In April 2017, Welsh Government consulted on the growing Welsh whelk fishery. Pressure on the fishery was growing, and WTSWW was aware of this phenomenon within its own sphere of operations, with many of the fishing vessels operating around the Pembrokeshire islands now being engaged in whelk fishing rather than lobster potting. Regulation was insufficient, and so Welsh Government sought industry views on “a range of sustainable management measures for the whelk fishery. These measures will […] enable Welsh Government to achieve the goal of a long term sustainably managed fishery. The management plan aims to increase economic benefits and to safeguard jobs with the wider consideration of safeguarding the marine environment.”

The consultation made a number of proposals, including but not limited to the introduction of a permit system, limiting the number of whelk pots per vessel, landing caps, increasing minimum size and a closed season.

WTSWW staff worked with other Welsh Wildlife Trusts, particularly North Wales Wildlife Trust and Wildlife Trusts Wales, to formulate a response to this consultation. This enabled us to provide input to Welsh Government on conservation issues related to the fishery; for example we strongly supported the increase in the Minimum Conservation Reference Size of whelks taken from 45 to 65 mm on the basis of evidence that the lower threshold was inadequate to protect the stock and ensure long term sustainability of the fishery, which was already severely depleted. We also recommended further increases in areas where there was evidence to suggest whelks reached maturity at a larger size. We also supported caps in landings, permits and effort control to mitigate the cumulative impact of whelk fishing on whelk populations.

The Wildlife Trusts were one of 89 respondents to this consultation, of which only 6 (7%) were from an environmental or conservation perspective, compared to 76 (87%) who were commercial or recreational fishermen. By majority, respondents were in favour of increasing the reference size, but views differed in how this should be done. The strong industry response demonstrates the critical importance of organisations like the Wildlife Trusts having the capacity to respond with environmental considerations to consultations of this kind.

Lizzie Wilberforce Conservation Manager

3.6 Wider Countryside Projects

This section details the results of just some of the larger wider countryside projects which we have delivered during the year. Each of these projects has received significant external funding, and often employed dedicated Conservation Team staff time in their delivery. These projects are exemplars of our impact and reach, beyond the boundaries of our nature reserves, and exemplify delivery of landscape scale conservation, often taking an ecosystem approach.

3.6.1 Connecting People and Nature …an exciting project in the rural wards of Merthyr Tydfil.

WTSWW have partnered up with Actif Woods on an exciting 3 year project in Merthyr Tydfil called 'Connecting People and Nature'. With support from Welsh Government's Rural Development Programme, we are running activities to engage with the local community at 4 Merthyr Tydfil County Borough council owned sites in Bedlinog, Vaynor, Bryngoleu and Gellideg. Our objective is to encourage local people to access these green spaces with the aim of benefiting the health of the landscape, individuals and the community.

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We are hoping that by basing our activities outdoors in these locations, local people will get involved, and may gain the confidence, or be inspired to use, these spaces in their own time and in their own way. Not only is this likely to improve their health and sense of wellbeing, but using these spaces regularly should instil a sense of ownership, which will serve to protect these places from vandalism and misuse. We will also be building relationships with local people over the 3 years to try and recruit a volunteer warden for each site, and will develop management plans to put in place the framework for continued conservation work and recommended actions in the years following on from the project. In order to safeguard the sites for continued community use in the future we will work towards having the sites designated as Local Nature Reserves. This will give them permanent legal protection as wildlife havens and community spaces.

Since December 2017 we have held 12 community days with a range of activities and volunteering tasks at each, including Christmas wreath making, winter tree ID, litter picking and bramble clearance. Local people have enjoyed having a go at using traditional green wood working tools such as a shave horse to create flowers and ornaments from coppiced Hazel. The habitat has been improved at some of the sites by the addition of Hedgehog houses, bird boxes and reptile refugia. Wildlife walks and surveys in these areas have already resulted in the collection of over 200 biological records. Countryside management training will also form part of the project, in order to upskill the people in these rural wards. A 12 week programme is currently underway where woodland activities have been designed to improve people’s mental and physical health. So far our programme in Bedlinog has seen participants create a woodland base camp, where they have been making benches, and wood chimes, and learning about campfire cooking and wild foraging. There have also been sessions on medicinal herbs and charcoal making, and there is a moth and bat night planned.

The Connecting People and Nature Project is a good opportunity to reach people in communities in Merthyr where there is a disconnect with nature and despite having access to green spaces, the local people don’t use them to explore the wildlife there, or enjoy the peace and quiet, or improve their health. By engaging and encouraging local people there is potential to do a lot of good not just for the people, but also for the sites themselves and the wildlife that can be found there. Lorna Baggett, Wildlife Trust Officer (Valleys)

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3.6.2 Gelli Hir – A Woodland Haven for Wildlife & The Community

A Project funded by Enovert Community Trust (formerly Cory Environmental Trust in Britain)

Gelli Hir Woods nature reserve is approximately 30 ha of ancient semi-natural and secondary woodland near Three Crosses, Swansea. It is a beautiful woodland with pond, bird hide and a network of paths; it is one of WTSWW’s more accessible woodland reserves on Gower with good numbers of visitors, mostly local.

In 2016 we left a “comments book” near the main entrance and car park and invited reserve users to suggest improvements they would like to see to the reserves. This helped inform our funding application.

WTSWW were lucky enough to be awarded substantial funding from Cory Environmental Trust in Britain (now known as Enovert Community trust) to enable us to enhance the woodland for people and wildlife at Gelli Hir nature reserve. The project began in spring 2017 and is running until late summer 2018. A major element of the project includes track building and path upgrades. We have also run a number of community conservation work sessions, guided walks and other activities and events and have taken the opportunity to showcase the work of the Trust. The main objectives of the project are to enhance the visitor experience by facilitating easier access throughout the woodland and to increase WTSWWs engagement with reserve users through targeted events and simple interpretation. The aim is to deliver work which is beneficial to the woodland habitats and to the reserve users. We hope that by raising our profile in the community through improving access, infrastructure and the understanding of biodiversity existing and new reserve users will have a greater appreciation of this special place.

The final outcome will be that Gelli Hir becomes a woodland where the visitor infrastructure is resilient and visitor impact on biodiversity is mitigated by ongoing practical habitat management and an increased understanding and appreciation of wildlife by reserve users. The increased amount of staff time spent on site delivering the project has really enabled us to build a relationship with regular reserve users and to hear a lot of positive feedback on our work. New people have been introduced to the woods, our work, the wildlife, flora and fauna at their local nature reserve and trained in habitat management

35 skills. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the funders for giving us the opportunity to be able to make these improvements and to engage with the community. Paul Thornton Senior Wildlife Trust Officer (Swansea, Neath & Port Talbot)

3.6.3 West Glamorgan’s Wild Woodlands – the last leg!

Our West Glamorgan Wild Woodland project started with the aim to restore and reconnect unfavourable woodland and woodland-mosaic wild spaces in Swansea and Neath & Port Talbot. During the last 2 years 9 months of the three year project we are on track to complete our objectives and have already made a massive impact on the twelve nature reserves in the project.

The project has been bringing reserves, previously under-managed due to lack of resources, back into healthy, more biodiverse and productive states. Using many ancient management practices including coppicing by hand, charcoal making, scything and in the future timber extraction using horses (as well as some more modern methods), staff and volunteers have made giant strides forward to improve our nature reserves. Eighteen months of hedge laying, thinning, scrub and bramble control in the winter seasons, and 12 months of mowing, path maintenance, controlling bracken and non-native invasive species in summer months, has kept us busy.

Invasives Rhododendron ponticum and Japanese Knotweed are slow to establish, but can regrow from small pieces and take many years to fully eradicate an entire plant from tip to root, whilst Himalayan Balsam is easy to pull but spreads at a quick pace. A total of 148,701 cubic metres of Rhododendron has been tackled at Coed Gawdir alone, and on average 3 tonnes a year of Balsam pulled at Gelli Hir.

The Wild Woodlands project funded by WREN, a not for profit business that awards grants to community projects from funds donated by FCC Environment to the Landfill Communities Fund, has allowed exactly 700 days of volunteers help to make a difference, do their part for the environment, keep fit and have a laugh whilst they’re at it! Tara Daniels West Glamorgan’s Wild Woodlands Project Officer

3.6.4 Making a difference for wildlife – our ‘Pioneer Project’

WTSWW has been incredibly fortunate to receive substantial financial support in recent years from players of People’s Postcode Lottery. This ‘Pioneer funding’ has made a critical

36 contribution to the delivery of both our Living Landscapes and Living Seas work programmes over the last year.

In Carmarthenshire, invasive and non-native Cotoneaster has been removed from the calcareous grassland in Carmel. This is critical work, which if left unattended can rapidly lead to habitat loss as this scrubby non-native spreads, swamping the limestone rock faces and low-lying grassland species.

In Ceredigion, the funding has supported our officer Em Foot and her volunteers to clear invading scrub from some of our SSSI rhos pastures, including Rhos Pil Bach and Rhos Glyn yr Helyg- the latter site being one of the most important in the county for the scarce Marsh Fritillary butterfly (see the case study earlier in this report on tree popping!).

Public access to some of our most beautiful nature reserves has also been supported, with path enhancements in West Williamston and Pengelli Forest in Pembrokeshire, including funding some badly needed new steps.

In Glamorgan, we have been able to invest in changes to our fences, gates and access systems on the South Gower Coast (see another case study earlier in this report). Also, our People & Wildlife Officer Meg Howells and her volunteers have also been working hard at Parc Slip. In April they monitored the breeding Lapwing population, with weekly surveys showing Lapwings nesting in two locations on the reserve, including an area specifically managed as breeding habitat for Lapwings (the ‘Lapwing Field’). During May they focused on Himalayan Balsam removal. Areas where they have consistently worked to remove Balsam over the last couple of years seem to be successful. This has allowed them to move onto other areas of the reserve this year where there are still large patches of this non- native. Hopefully we will reap similar results in these new areas.

Finally, last summer we also captured some amazing camera trap footage of Water Voles munching on chunks of apple at Llyn Fach nature reserve. Since then we have been keen to ensure that our population of voles are protected against the invasive non-native American Mink which is a predator of the Water Vole and could potentially wipe out an isolated population such as ours at Llyn Fach. Using the camera trap, as well as a clay footprint raft, we have determined that the raft has been visited by a fox, some mice, and a curious dog, but so far, no signs of American Mink.

We owe a huge debt of thanks to players of People’s Postcode Lottery, whose support has allowed us to achieve all this. It must be admitted that fencing, scrub control and monitoring are not the most glamorous of jobs, and we are incredibly fortunate to be supported by a funder who recognises the absolute importance of them for safeguarding some of our most vulnerable wildlife.

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4. Marine Conservation

WTSWW’s Living Seas work, through the dedicated staff and volunteer team based at CBWMC in New Quay, continues to go from strength to strength. Research, survey and monitoring projects continue, and the work is supported by many very dedicated volunteers. During the 2017-18 financial year we found out we had been successful with a major HLF bid in partnership with North Wales Wildlife Trust to deliver marine conservation in Wales; watch this space for more news in next year’s report.

4.1 Discovering Our Coasts

Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre (CBMWC) relies on the generous help and support of Living Seas Volunteers in order to carry out much of our research and awareness raising work. Volunteers played a vital role in establishing CBMWC and continue to make a difference to the work of CBMWC, allowing us to reach goals and improve year after year.

Over the past year volunteers have assisted with land and boat based marine mammal surveys, entering data, manning our visitor centre, running community engagement events, conducting beach cleans and more. The Living Seas volunteers have contributed a staggering 1,615.8 volunteer days from April 2017-March 2018!

In addition to our work with a wide range of volunteers, in April 2017 CBMWC received funding from Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA) for the Discovering Our Coasts Project. The aim of the project is to provide local, young people aged 14-25 with the opportunity to discover the Ceredigion coast and to develop key skills through a range of coastal events such as Marine Biologist Days, Dolphin Survey Picnics and though volunteering at CBMWC.

As part of the “Become a Marine Biologist” sessions, young people were given the opportunity to take part in citizen science surveys, observe marine life and examine water samples and plankton under microscopes. Tomos aged 14 attended one of the sessions and his mother got in touch with us after to say “I overheard Tomos telling (his friend) Jorge yesterday that he no longer wanted to be a footballer when he grows up as he plans to be a marine zoologist”!

When asked about the project, new volunteers stated “I learnt so many new skills like marine animal identification, research and conservation work”, “I really think the volunteering experience will help me to get a job” and “volunteering has helped me to boost my CV”. Due to the success of the project CBMWC have received

38 continuation funding from WCVA meaning the project will continue until October 2018.

Laura Evans Living Seas Wales Project Officer

4.2 Living Seas, outreach & awareness raising

One of the key activities at CBMWC is raising public awareness of the marine environment and wildlife. We do this in a variety of ways, from engaging with visitors in our Visitor Centre and during our cetacean and seal surveys, to leading a series of educational activities, and delivering talks.

During 2017 we engaged with 2026 people through our education activities and talks. We hosted 5 school visits (a total of 89 children) and gave a talk at another school to 44 children.

Activities for children at CBMWC included a monthly Wildlife Watch, where the group learned about a different aspect of marine wildlife at each session, from jellyfish to sharks, shells to dolphins.

During the school holidays we ran family-friendly activities, including Dolphin Detective, Seashore Safari, Litter Warriors, Marine Mammal madness. Of these, Seashore Safari and Mini Marine Biologist – based around survey and identification of rockpool and strandline wildlife - proved the most popular. Funding for a programme of Mini Marine biologist sessions was subsequently achieved from SeaChangers, which included funding for children’s microscopes and mini lab coats. The sessions continue to be delivered during Spring and Summer 2018 and are proving equally popular.

During the summer holidays, a ‘Discovery Table’ was manned by the volunteers outside the centre and on the harbour wall. This contained a display of cetacean skulls and other marine-related items and provided a further opportunity for engagement with an extra 225 visitors.

Attendance at 10 external events also resulted in a significant amount of engagement. These included the Sea2Shore Festival and a RAY Ceredigion event ( providing play and learning opportunities for children).

5. Media and public awareness

All of the Conservation Team are involved in media work to varying degrees during the year, working in partnership with other staff teams to deliver our message.

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5.1 Media work

Figures from the mainland Conservation Team staff show that they participated in seven radio interviews, two television appearances, as well as contributing to a great many local newspaper and magazine articles, and writing their own blogs and newsletters. The teams based on the Pembrokeshire Islands and CBWMC continue to deliver a lot more media work in addition to this. This area is reported more fully by the marketing and communications department. However, it remains an important part of the Conservation Team’s remit.

Storm Ophelia appeal, October 2017

Storm Ophelia struck west Wales on 16 October last year, with devastating consequences. Starting as the easternmost Atlantic major hurricane on record, Ophelia was extratropical (and thus downgraded to a ‘storm’) by the time it reached the UK, but it was still regarded as the worst to affect Ireland in 50 years. In Wales, roads were closed, and hundreds of houses were left without power. Five boats were sunk in Porthclais near St Davids, and 92 mile an hour winds hit Milford Haven marina.

For WTSWW, it is the Pembrokeshire Islands of Skomer and Skokholm that are always our first concern; lying just off the south west coast of Pembrokeshire they always bear the brunt of autumn storms, and their exposed location leaves them vulnerable to the impacts of Atlantic weather. Storm Ophelia certainly lived up to the dire warnings issued by the Met Office. Waves reaching 16 metres were recorded at nearby St Ann’s Head. High winds- but even stronger seas- battered both islands. On Skokholm there was severe damage to the lighthouse, with doors and windows ripped away and sea water even entering the upper floors. On Skomer, the impacts were more immediately apparent on the wildlife: October is the height of Grey Seal pupping time, with large numbers of pups lying on the island’s beaches. Although seal pups can swim from birth, even large pups are unable to withstand the battering of prolonged extreme weather. Skomer Wardens Bee Büche and Ed Stubbings monitor the pups daily at this time of year, and by the time the storm abated, two thirds of the pups they had been individually monitoring before the storm had disappeared from the beaches.

On the back of this devastation, WTSWW launched a storm appeal, to raise funds for repairs and replacements on the islands, to storm-proof them for the future, and to under-write the critical Grey Seal monitoring.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, with such powerful images of the effect of the storm on the seal pups, the media interest was significant. Many newspapers and online news channels carried the story, including The Express and The Metro as well as many local papers. TV and radio outlets also carried interviews with WTSWW’s conservation staff, including ITV news, and BBC Radio Four (‘PM’ and the ‘Today’ programme).

Clearly the situation was terribly negative one on the islands at the time, but there seems little doubt that this level of engagement with the media is one positive outcome, because of the opportunities it

40 afforded us to talk about the seals, and the importance of the islands. It also helped us promote one of our most successful appeals for many years, smashing our fundraising target of £25,000. Responding to an unforeseen incident like this and providing the interviewees for media outlets at short notice is without doubt a challenge for an ever-busy team, but the opportunity to reach such an enormous audience with our message is surely a silver lining to the original tragedy. Lizzie Wilberforce Conservation Manager

5.2 Public Engagement

During the last year, members of the conservation team delivered 45 talks, reaching an estimated total audience of 1413 individuals. This is fewer talks than in the previous year, but still with a substantial combined audience.

Conservation Team staff again ran a very large number of public walks and rambles during 2017-18. A total of 125 walks were recorded, led by staff, with an estimated total of 1257 attendees, only slightly less than the previous year. The majority of these events occurred on our nature reserves. A total of 11 training days were also run or organised by Conservation Team staff, training up 93 individuals.

Conservation Team staff recorded an additional 79 staff-led community events that they had organised (reaching 1958 people). CBMWC ran a further 63 marine-themed events, reaching 600 people. A further thirty three events were attended by staff, events that were organised by partners. Events held in partnership can include, for example, attendance at large national shows such as the RHS show in Cardiff and the British Birdwatching Fair (Rutland), the latter reaching over 20,000 people and engaging a critical audience for our Pembrokeshire islands. County shows and small local events are also an important component of our engagement work.

The Forecourt, Skokholm: visitors viewing Storm Petrels

It is a longstanding Skokholm tradition to take our guests down to the Quarry after dark to see the amazing Storm Petrel colony. Although there are petrels nesting in the walls around the accommodation, there is something really special about a nocturnal descent past lots of singing birds (a noise likened in the past to fairies being sick) and a night spent surrounded by hundreds of tiny seabirds making bat-like circuits of the scree slope. Skokholm is home to approximately 2000 pairs of these mysterious little birds, making us the fourth largest British colony, and nearly 1000 pairs nest within the immediate vicinity of the Quarry.

The experience of watching the Storm Petrels has evolved in recent years. In the past the only way of seeing them was to visit on bright nights or to briefly shine a torch into the sky, the latter of which clearly disturbs the birds which quickly move to darker areas where they are hidden from predatory gulls and owls. In an attempt to reduce disturbance at the colony, we developed the use of near- infrared viewing equipment in 2014, equipment which has been successfully used to this day. The viewer emits near-infrared light in the spectral range of 700-1000 nanometres, light just outside the spectrum visible to the human (and indeed the Storm Petrel) eye, whilst also containing a camera capable of converting this light to a greyscale image visible on a small inbuilt screen. It means that we can pass the viewer around our guests and allow everyone the opportunity to see Storm Petrels behaving naturally over the colony. It is a remarkable experience watching such secretive birds

41 wheeling and interacting in a way which was invisible to us even on the brightest of nights or when using a torch.

However there were ways of improving this experience still further. In 2017 the Friends of Skokholm and Skomer used their British Trust for Ornithology Marsh Award money to fund extra infrared lights which improved the quality of the image received by the viewer, however the better quality image still had to be viewed on a very small inbuilt screen. During the winter of 2017-2018 the Friends, aided by the ingenuity of Mark Burton, developed a Storm Petrel viewing station, a portable box containing a larger screen capable of receiving and showing the image produced by the viewer. This new setup has allowed the best views yet of Storm Petrels at the Quarry. To make sure that everyone gets a good view of the screen we set about developing a viewing area, with tiered seating and a plinth upon which to stand the new equipment. As this new area is situated at the front of the Petrel Station, we have named it the Forecourt.

The Petrel Station, a bespoke wall of 119 Storm Petrel nest boxes completed last year (see the 2017 WTSWW Conservation Report for more information), has received a great deal of attention. It was built as something of an experiment, a project we would have always wished we had done if we did not give it a go. But would it work? Could we encourage Storm Petrels to nest in sites where we could see their eggs and thus get a better productivity estimate (the vast majority of natural sites are hidden, even from an endoscope)? Although it is still too early to say, at the time of writing there are up to seven boxes being regularly occupied, sites which have contained dueting birds. Time will tell.

Richard Brown and Giselle Eagle Skokholm Wardens

Events at Parc Slip

Parc Slip Nature Reserve, a restored opencast mine, is

today a wonderful place for people to enjoy wildlife. The reserve boasts beautiful wildflower meadows, over 10 km of paths, 6 bird hides and a fully accessible visitor centre and café. Since refurbishment in 2013, the Visitor Centre has allowed establishment of an annual programme of wildlife engagement events at Parc Slip (see Conservation Team Report 2013-2014). This year, events at Parc Slip included: bird walks, reptile rambles, species identification workshops, wildlife quiz trails and many more, with a steady stream of visitors attending.

One of the most popular events was a nest box workshop during ‘National Nest Box Week’. The event was possible thanks to the collaboration of Lyn Evans - a lecturer in Countryside Management at Pencoed College. The workshop offered visitors the chance to make their own nest box and learn about different types of nest boxes suitable, for different bird species. We also aimed to inspire people to make their gardens more wildlife friendly and, during the day, we were able to speak to approximately 40 people about nest boxes and gardening for wildlife.

Reptile rambles are always popular at Parc Slip, and this year was no exception. For many attendees,

42 the walk is often the first time they encounter reptiles native to Britain, and so it is an excellent opportunity to educate people on the ecology of these fantastic creatures. The walk involves looking for basking reptiles in areas they are known to frequent and lifting artificial refugia to see what may lie beneath – you never know what you might find. This year, in addition to finding Grass Snakes, Slowworms and Adders under refugia, we also found: Glow Worm larvae, newts, toads, caterpillars and a melanistic (black) Adder!

Walks looking for nocturnal residents on the reserve have also proved popular this year, and were another opportunity for people to encounter wildlife they may never have seen before. The ‘Ponds at Night’ Walk in April had 17 people searching for amphibians at night. Despite a slow start to the night, we recorded over twenty newts, both Palmate and Great Crested Newts, and a fair few frogs and toads.

Visitors have also helped with practical conservation work on the reserve. For example, volunteers were vital in helping with scrub clearance in winter, and pulling Himalayan Balsam in summer. In spring, upon arrival of Lapwings to the reserve, volunteers diligently surveyed the abundance of Lapwings at Parc Slip

and monitored any signs of breeding behaviour.

Thanks are owed to players of People’s Postcode Lottery for supporting this work. Meg Howells People and Wildlife Officer

Red Squirrels United Knowledge Fair

Red Squirrels United (RSU) is a national project led by The Wildlife Trusts which brings together many of the various Red Squirrel conservation groups and organisations across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Mid Wales Red Squirrel Partnership (MWRSP), of which WTSWW is a key member, is working with RSU, and the post of Mid Wales Grey Squirrel Control Officer (MWGSCO) is funded through RSU’s HLF (Heritage Lottery Fund) funding.

RSU is currently in the second year of a three year joint HLF and European EU LIFE14 funded project. Part of this project is to hold three annual “Knowledge Fairs” which bring together staff and volunteers from all of the RSU partner organisations in a conference and networking event to learn more about each member project and Red Squirrel conservation nationally, and to share knowledge and experience.

This year, the RSU Knowledge Fair took place at Bangor University. Attended by over one hundred volunteers and staff from different organisations, WTSWW/MWRSP were able to send a large delegation of three staff members (Conservation Manager Lizzie Wilberforce, Red Squirrel Officer Becky Hulme and Grey Squirrel Control Officer Ben Allen) along with eight project volunteers. Both project officers were able to speak at the event and thus represent WTSWW’s contribution to Red Squirrel conservation.

The agenda of the Knowledge Fair covered many aspect relating to Red Squirrel conservation, such as methodologies for integrated Grey Squirrel control and early warning systems to deal with the detection and containment of Grey Squirrels in areas of existing Red Squirrel populations; the risk of

43 spread of disease in Red Squirrel populations, and issues of bio-security relating to disease management and the captive breeding of Red Squirrels; social attitudes to Red Squirrel conservation, and especially to Grey Squirrel control; an overview of the current situations of Red Squirrel conservation in Wales; and a presentation on the Pine Marten Recovery project in Wales, and how this could potentially assist in Grey Squirrel control. The Knowledge Fair provided much opportunity for discussion of these and other issues of Red Squirrel conservation and Grey Squirrel control. The opportunity to meet with others working in the same field of conservation, and to discuss shared experiences, and different possibilities and methods of addressing similar issues is always valuable, and all those in the WTSWW/MWRSP delegation agreed it was an illuminating and highly informative event.

The second day of the Knowledge Fair included a visit to Treborth Botanic Garden, on the side of the Menai Strait near Bangor. This is a site where Red Squirrels are known to be found, and indeed a Red Squirrel was seen by some attendees. A series of short talks on specific issues relating to Red Squirrel conservation in North Wales, given on a walk around the garden were highly informative, and again emphasised the importance of the opportunity to share knowledge and information across different organisations working towards the same ends.

More information about Red Squirrels United and the Knowledge Fairs can be found on the RSU website: http://www.redsquirrelsunited.org.uk and information about WTSWW’s work with Red Squirrels, and the Mid Wales Red Squirrel Partnership at: https://midwalesredsquirrels.org

Ben Allen Grey Squirrel Control Officer

Guided Walks At Killay Marsh and Gelli Hir in partnership with Killay Library, Gower

I have led three walks at Killay marsh and one walk at Gelli Hir, in conjunction with Killay library, over the last year. I frequently use Killay library and following discussions with the manager Steve Jeacock, we decided to offer a couple of wellbeing walks to our reserve in Killay Marsh to members of the local community.

Left: Killay Marsh. Middle: Killay Library—having tea and biscuits after walk. Right: Gelli Hir—sun shining through a beech tree, and the smoke of the charcoal kiln.

Killay Marsh is less than 5 minutes walk from the library. The walks were very well received so we then decided to offer another walk at Killay Marsh and one at Gelli Hir (which is approx. 3.5miles from the library). Steve Jeacock states, “Within Swansea Libraries there is a growing emphasis on supporting health and wellbeing in the community. The recent wellbeing and nature walks which the

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Wildlife Trust promoted through Killay Library are perfect examples of the kind of initiatives we are looking to support.”

I have thoroughly enjoyed leading the walks. The majority of people that attended were from the local community but had never been to the reserves before. The Killay Marsh walks were promoted as ‘Wellbeing Wildlife Walks’. We walked about 2 miles in 1 and a half hours, taking our time to look for and observe wildlife. We listened to birdsong and discussed our management of the reserve. The Gelli Hir walk was a nature walk, but similarly to Killay Marsh we observed wildlife, discussed the work we are doing on site and listened to birdsong. The connection between these experiences and wellbeing is a therapy that has been prescribed in japan as ‘Shinrin–yoku’ (forest bathing) for many years. We did out own version of forest bathing in these walks. From the participants I learnt one man had planted a hedge at Killay marsh with his daughter when in primary school (she is now 28!). Through leading the walks I had the opportunity to see the reserves through fresh eyes and really appreciate the great spaces we manage.

Ceri Evans Reserves Officer (Swansea, Neath, Port Talbot, Carmarthenshire)

5.3 Wildlife queries

Responding to queries about wildlife from WTSWW members and members of the public is an important area of work, facilitating others to become more interested and to do their bit for wildlife. Although difficult to record accurately, we believe members of the Conservation Team responded to around three hundred such queries over the year, although inevitably these data are poorly captured as many are simply phone enquiries and not recorded – consequently this is probably a significant under estimate. We also engaged with other landowners seeking advice; we estimate that we advised on the management 15,210 ha of land in third party ownership during the year, including visiting 21 in person (totalling around 200 ha land).

6. Consultancy and contracts 6.1 Consultancy

A number of members of the Conservation Team also operate an ecological consultancy for WTSWW. This work holds its own budget and is not reported in detail here. However, the consultancy work is delivered by core staff and returns significant income which is re- invested in our conservation work. Through the consultancy we also operate the seasonal programme of professional training days based at Parc Slip which delivers against our charitable objectives as well as raising income for WTSWW.

Witford Point (Baglan Burrows) Compensation Area contract

In 2017, WTSWW were awarded a one-year contract to warden the Witford Point Dune Compensation Area near Baglan, Neath Port Talbot. It is a contract that is renewed on an annual basis via a competitive tender and we were again awarded it in 2018. The site is owned by St. Modwen Development Limited and is a ca. 50 ha area comprised predominantly of sand dunes and salt marsh on the eastern side of the mouth of the River Neath. The work planned for Witford Dunes is part of the Section 106 agreement which resulted from the loss of an area of sand dunes during the construction of the new Swansea University campus.

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The site is important because sand dunes are a Biodiversity Action Plan habitat and Witford Point contains high and low dunes along with dune slacks. It is valued for the associated invertebrate community which includes Section 7 Priority Species such as the Dune Tiger Beetle (Cicindela maritima) – see picture. The plant community is also important as are individual species including Sea Stock (Matthiola sinuata) which is another Section 7 Priority Species.

The contract involves a mixture of regular patrols, surveys, monitoring and habitat management and is carried out by numerous members of the Conservation Team. The general patrolling duties, carried out once a week, includes engaging with visitors, litter- picking, monitoring duties (e.g. butterfly transects), checks of infrastructure and collecting ad hoc wildlife records.

Surveying and monitoring is a large part of the contract and ranges from regular species surveys including breeding birds, reptiles, lepidoptera and specific species such as Sea Stock. Searches of the strandline looking for the elusive strandline specialist beetle (Eurynebria complanata) will also be carried out. Larger-scale surveys of the plant and invertebrate communities will be initiated in order to provide baseline data for ongoing monitoring. In addition to these ecological surveys data on visitor use (especially off-road bikes) and anti-social behaviour will be collected.

The habitat management needed at Witford Point at this early stage is removal of invasive non-native species (INNS) and selective control of scrub where it is encroaching on more sensitive habitats and/or species. The main INNS on site are Japanese Rose (Rosa rugosa), Japanese Knotweed (Fallopia japonica) and Cotoneaster (Cotoneaster sp.) along with isolated clumps of Pampas Grass (Cortaderia selloana). These species, Rosa rugosa in particular, are out-competing native species and spreading through the sand dunes, contributing to their stabilisation in places. It may be that sand dune restoration work will be needed in the future but that will potentially require significant capital works.

Throughout the contract it is anticipated that volunteers will play a large role in the project; assisting the Trust with surveys and habitat management work and it is envisaged that a Volunteer Warden will be recruited from the local area. Along with recruiting volunteers there will also be engagement with the wider community and relevant partners. The off-roading community are an important group to contact as the aim is not to eliminate their presence on site but to attempt to limit it to less sensitive areas of the dunes.

As a result of all the patrols and surveys that have been undertaken since starting work at Witford Point in April 2017 we have recorded 10 mammal species, 1 amphibian species, 1 reptile species, 45 bird species, 357 invertebrate species and 413 plant species with the results of this year’s invertebrate and vegetation surveys still to come. Despite regular searches of the strandline no sign of Eurynebria complanata has been found but surveys of their habitat will continue. Numerous sand dune specialists have been identified however and Sea Stock plants have been located and mapped. INNS control has commenced and will continue and regular litter-picking sessions have been carried out. In addition, monitoring points have been placed across the site in order to assess whether some of the regularly-used bike tracks are increasing in size to the detriment of the surrounding habitat.

Vaughn Matthews Conservation Officer 6.2 Contracting

The Conservation Team regularly carries out contracting work to bring in an income to support the work on WTSWW reserves. Using the skills within the team along with our tools

46 and equipment by delivering appropriate contracts we can have a beneficial impact on the wider environment. These vary from footpath maintenance in Glamorgan to mitigation and compensation work funded through the planning process, and positive conservation initiatives contracted by partner organisations or sympathetic landowners. The team delivers a variety of such work across the entire WTSWW area.

CASE STUDY: Contract Land Management

In early 2018 we carried out work at a privately owned SSSI that covers several fields of species rich neutral grassland habitat. Due to varying pressures on the SSSI, NRW tendered out work to undertake habitat management of one particular field which had reduced in grassland habitat extent and diversity as a result of several years of under-management.

The contract was the second season of work at this site and so we were able to maintain the work carried out in 2017 and extend the grassland restoration further across the site. The habitat works carried out included the selective cutting and removal of bramble scrub, shrubs and rank grass within the field to promote the growth of a wider diversity of herbaceous vegetation and the clearance of low lying tree branches and scrub to improve access for future management as the aim is to return conservation grazing to the fields.

To deliver this contract we drew in support from across the Conservation Team and one of the benefits of this was that volunteers from different reserves groups joined us as it was an opportunity to visit a new location – a real team effort! Sarah Woodcock Conservation Manager

7. Education

Education work undertaken by the Conservation Team occurs largely through our input to events, and school visits to our flagship nature reserves. The greatest part was delivered through our partnership with Dow Silicones Ltd., who fund our Education Officer, Catherine Lewis.

During the year, we estimate that WTSWW conservation staff undertook outreach visits with 25 individual schools and three colleges or universities. Eighteen schools and six colleges or universities visited our own sites, totalling 766 visiting students.

Delivering Wildlife WATCH group activity is also a core part of the Wildlife Trusts’ work, and this forms the first of our three case studies this year for our education delivery.

Wildlife Watch (Parc Slip)

The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales have a Wildlife Watch group running at its two main visitor centres; one at Parc Slip in Bridgend and one at the Welsh Wildlife Centre in Cilgerran.

This past year we have aimed to not only explore Parc Slip, so we have been out and about visiting

47 other nature reserves, and differing habitats. The favourite places in 2017 have had a marine theme, visiting Kenfig Sand Dunes, and Cardigan Bay Marine project, where the children got the opportunity to go out on one of the vessels for as dolphin watching session.

Between sessions the Parc Slip Group members have access to a range for equipment, which they are able to borrow, such as, bat detectors and a trail camera, as well as ‘Borrow Bags’ full of equipment and ID guides. This year the Bridgend Group gave the group funds to buy an additional trail camera, which was eagerly taken home and placed on the bird feeder!

Photos by Aled (Age 8) & Lloyd (Age 6)

Catherine Lewis and Megan Howells

School Membership Scheme

The Wildlife Trust offer school membership, this offers a variety of benefits including:

 Support with the national curriculum.  Wilding the schools outdoor areas.  Discounted class visits to the Trust Reserves

We have been working closely with school members, Bryncethin Primary, for the past 2 years, developing their wild flower meadow, and this year helped them plant a living willow teaching circle.

Here is an extract from a poem the children have written about their school grounds pollination project:

We have a meadow, full of wild flowers Where we sit and work for many hours Enclosed safely inside our willow hedge We all keep out pollination pledge We have worked very hard

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Children, staff, parents, the Wildlife Trust….

Catherine Lewis & Tim Jones

Teacher Training Workshop

As part of My Wild Cardiff (Schools) projects, the Trust organised a training day for teachers, teaching assistants and student teachers. Working in conjunction with Cardiff Council Community Rangers and RSPB Cymru, the training day sessions aimed to give teachers a better understanding of how they can use wildlife, and the outdoors, in their day to day teaching, with links into the curriculum.

The Trust session involved identifying different habits and creature’s needs, as well as food chains and webs.

WTSWW is grateful to players of People’s Postcode Lottery for supporting this work. Catherine Lewis / Rose Revera

8. Plans for 2018-19

There is little doubt that 2017-18 was a successful, but challenging year. The wider economic and social environment in which we are operating is perhaps the most unstable we have seen in many decades.

The uncertainties around Brexit have, and will continue, to impose challenges. The new order will bring with it both risks and opportunities to Welsh wildlife. The effects of changes to the provision of European money stand to have big impacts on our farming and fishing industries, undoubtedly with knock-on effects for our wildlife- what those effects will be remain to be seen. The changes in the legal status of species and sites that are currently protected under European legislation is also a concern. What is clear, however, is that we have to step up to the mark to try and ensure we influence any changes to deliver the best outcomes we can for wildlife.

Across Wales, and related to austerity rather than Brexit, the availability of funding for environmental projects continues to decline, with the loss of a number of funding streams in recent years. This makes the commitment and energy of our wonderful staff team and volunteers all the more important to us. We may have to fight harder for the resources at our disposal, but the need for what we do is growing every day.

The coming year (2018/19) will see greater clarity on the form that Brexit will take, it will see the opening of a new, devolved grant scheme for the distribution of Landfill Tax for environmental projects in Wales, and changes to the ways in which both Welsh Government and NRW fund the voluntary sector.

Closer to home, we will of course be fully merging with Brecknock Wildlife Trust, so the WTSWW portfolio will expand significantly to welcome the Brecknock staff to the WTSWW

49 team and to take on responsibility for their nature reserves and the wider countryside work that they do.

We look forward to rising to these significant challenges and opportunities. We would like to thank all our volunteers and supporters who have made our achievements in this last year possible, and we hope you will work with us as we take our fight into the coming year.

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Published by The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales The Nature Centre Fountain Road Tondu Bridgend CF32 0EH 01656 724100 [email protected] May 2018

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