Brown Hare (c) Amy Lewis
Brown Hares boxing in lowland meadows teaming with butterflies fluttering over a fabulous display of wildflowers; this scene is increasingly rare, however this year the Wildlife Trusts are hoping to change this through a new project.
The Wildlife Trusts have secured funding from the Welsh Government Resilient Ecosystems Fund, to set up a pilot scheme to identify and safeguard valuable and threatened grassland and heathland areas across south-east Wales.
There will be small grants available to landowners and the scheme will help identify and support the care of some of the best places for wildlife in Glamorgan (Cardiff, Vale of Glamorgan, Rhondda Cynon Taff, Merthyr Tydfil, Bridgend, Neath-Port Talbot and Swansea) and five other Local Authorities as far east as Monmouthshire. These sites will form an invaluable network of Local Wildlife Sites.
We are lucky in Glamorgan to have some fantastic wildlife-rich habitats; from wildflower meadows to stunning heathland, teaming with a variety of flora and fauna. Local Wildlife Sites are a way of recognising some of these best places for wildlife.
Within Glamorgan a number of sites have already been identified as county gems that we are hoping will create a new network of good quality habitat, with more waiting to be discovered! For many of these sites the landowners may not be aware of their value or have the knowledge or resources to manage them correctly to benefit wildlife. It is the key involvement of landowners that makes these sites into Local Wildlife Sites.
Local Wildlife Sites are areas considered to be of particular wildlife value locally because of the variety of species they support. They are a voluntary identification to encourage and support landowners to find out more about the special wildlife on their land and how to care for it, and are a reason to be proud.
Staff are on hand to assist with wildlife surveys and management advice along with help for landowners to apply to the associated grant scheme. This could include money for items such as fencing to help a neglected site be grazed or clearance of encroaching scrub.
It is intended that there will be a number events during 2014 including a Landowner Demonstration Day during which examples will be shown of how practical land management can benefit wildlife.
This is a Pilot Scheme during 2014 focusing on a limited number of sites in each Local Authority area with the intention of further work on many more sites in future years.
The project is funded by the Welsh Government through the Resilient Ecosystems Fund 2013/15.
