Presthaven Sands Holiday Park and Flintshire Countryside Services have sought the help of native Welsh Mountain Ponies in the management of the dune grassland within Gronant Dunes and Talacre Warren Site of Special Scientific Interest.
The Carneddau pony is a hardy breed that has roamed the hills for thousands of years. They can usually be found on the Carneddau mountain range in Gwynedd, but a new grazing project has brought three of these special ponies to Gronant Dunes and Talacre Warren SSSI.
They have been brought in to graze a dune grassland area, which has become overgrown. The aim of the project is to encourage this area to become a species-rich dune grassland, which will improve the biodiversity of the site.
Presthaven Sands and Flintshire Countryside Services are working with PONT – the Welsh Grazing Animals Partnership – an organisation that aims to encourage and facilitate grazing projects for the benefit of conservation, landscape and heritage. With the help of PONT, we have been able to arrange for the ponies to be transported from Llanfairfechan to Gronant for a period of grazing.
Mandy Cartwright, Coastal Ranger for Presthaven Sands said, “Gronant Dunes and Talacre Warren SSSI is a very important habitat. The dunes here are one of the last remnants of a dune system that once extended along most of the North Wales Coast. The introduction of grazing to this site by ponies will encourage a richer diversity for sand dune species to flourish. There are few breeds that are hardy enough to graze here, and we’re honoured to have native Welsh Mountain Ponies on this site.
“The ponies are semi-feral so are easily spooked but are settling in extremely well to their new environment. We are asking everyone to heed the signs instructing people to kindly refrain from feeding the ponies, and to keep out of the fenced off area.”
