Latest News
Skomer Island– Bookings for 2011
Skomer Island in Spring, Andy DaviesMonday 27 September at 9am: Skomer voluntary assistant wardens
Monday 4 October at 9am: Skomer overnight accommodation
If you are not a member of the Trust the opening date for bookings for both volunteers and overnight accommodation on Skomer Island is Monday 11 October at 9am
We shall require your Trust membership number when you book. If you do not know this please check this with the Membership Officer at Tondu (01656 724100). If you are a member of the Friends of the Islands you will need to upgrade your membership to full membership of the Trust in order to gain priority booking.
New booking forms for 2011 for both overnight accommodation and volunteers will be available on the website and should be sent to the office within 21 days of your telephone booking with a cheque for £35 in the case of volunteers or a deposit of 25% in the case of overnight accommodation.
Please note prices:
Volunteers - £35 (same as this year)
Overnight accommodation:
April: £30 per person per night
May, June, July: £50 per person per night (maximum three nights during these months)
August: £30 per person per night
September and October: £20 per person per night
Rates for under 16s is half that of the adult rate if they share their parents’ room
Single occupancy rates are 50% extra on the main rate ie May, June, July £75 per person per
Skomer Island overnight accommodation 2010
Reduced prices for September and October:
£20 per person per night (half price under 16s).
Photography Workshops at the Welsh Wildlife Centre and Skomer Island
Puffin with sandeels, Andy DaviesThe majestic Wildlife Trust Visitor Centre, set within the Teifi Marshes Nature Reserve at Cilgerran, offers a wide variety of subjects. We meet at 10 am for an introductory talk and the day is then spent photographing at various locations within the Reserve, periodically returning to our dedicated studio for review of pictures on the computer. Instruction is informal and conducted as we work our way around the Reserve. The course finishes at 4.30 pm.
The Skomer Island Workshop runs on Wednesdays where participants are prebooked on the first ferry of the day. This is a truly world class destination and the memories will stay ingrained for a lifetime. Intimate encounters with puffins are an extraordinary experience and one can just imagine Sir David Attenborough commentating in the background.
An unmissable landscape panorama unfolds in May when the island is covered with a carpet of bluebells and red campion. Mid-June to mid-July is the time to capture the iconic shot of a comical puffin with an impossible number of sandeels crammed in its beak. The year culminates in the seal pupping season from late August through to the end of November.
How to book
Numbers are limited and workshops must be booked at least two days in advance. Contact Andy Davies on 01646 636627 or email andy@andydavies.info
Equipment required
Digital compact cameras with manual capability or digital single lens reflex cameras (DSLRs) with interchangeable lenses. Please ensure that batteries are fully charged. Suitable clothing and footwear.
Optional
Laptop computer loaded with Adobe Photoshop. Trial versions can be downloaded from the Adobe website.
Tripod
AndyDavies
Andy has been a professional photographer for over 20 years and specialises in wildlife and landscape photography. He moved to West Wales in 2009 to be immersed in the environment which inspires him and wrote and photographed Coastline Wales in 2008. A former university lecturer, he now combines his love of photography and his passion for passing on skills to others in a series of photographic courses in West Wales. His pictures can be seen in a number of books including Skomer – Portrait of a Welsh Island and Coastline Wales, both published by Graffeg. See www.andydavies.info and www.graffeg.com for further information.
The Only Good Way To Capture Wildlife!
Photographic Competition –
.jpg "Robin by Lyndsey Maiden")
Robin by Lyndsey MaidenTheme: Welsh wildlife through the seasons
Photographs can be of habitats, landscapes or species, taken on our nature reserves or in the wider countryside at any time of the year, but must be taken in Wales during the last two years, preferably within the area of South and West Wales.
We want to collect a series of photographs that can be turned into Christmas and Greetings Cards. The photographer will be credited on the card and all proceeds from the sale of the cards will go to support the conservation work of the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales. 4 - 6 photographs will be chosen with a winter theme, and will be turned into Christmas cards. In addition we will choose 2 photographs that best embody the spirit of each season (a total of 8 photographs) that will be turned into Greetings cards.
Rules:
1. All entries must be the photographer’s own work and should be submitted on a CD. Please don’t email photographs directly to the Trust.
2. Include your name, address and contact details, title and location of the photograph/ photographs with the CD, and ensure the photos are at least 1000 pixels wide
3. All photographs of animals must be of wild animals in their natural state – no pets, zoo or captive animals. Do not enter photographs of birds on or near nests.
4. Closing date for receiving entries is Monday 6th September 2010.
Please send to:
Photographic Competition, The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales, The Nature Centre, Fountain Road, Tondu, Bridgend, CF32 0EH
Welsh Wildlife CentreA great opportunity to sample our great cuisine will be at this years outdoor theatre shows run in partnership with Theatr Mwldan. The performances are presented on the top meadow with panoramic views of the Teifi Marshes, adjacent to the Wildlife Centre building. This year’s performances by Illyria theatre company are:
Pride & Prejudice – 11 July
James & the Giant Peach – 1 August
Romeo & Juliet – 8 August
During the shows the Glasshouse Café will return with its very popular all you can eat buffet in a new picnic style to enjoy for only £5. You could be lazing in the sun, watching a wonderful performance and eating butternut squash & feta pie or ham, mushroom & cheddar cheese pie or vegetarian pates or ham slices and then help yourself to the all you can eat salad buffet.
Why not add to the alfresco experience by treating yourself to a glass of Pimms!
We have just launched our new coffee loyalty card scheme. Why not pick one up on your next visit to the café and simply bring it with you each time to enjoy our range of teas and coffees.
FOR SALE: Rhiwlas Cottage, Teifi Marshes Nature Reserve, Cilgerran
That's right, a traditional 3/4 bedroom detached cottage right here on the Teifi Marshes Nature Reserve is up for sale at a cool £229,995.
Rhiwlas CottageRhiwlas is a very attractive and wonderfully positioned detached country cottage located in a unique location within a well managed nature reserve with many different wildlife habitats. The cottage has good sized rooms consisting of three bedrooms upstairs with bathroom, while downstairs there is a utility room, shower room, kitchen, lounge and also a dining room or fourth bedroom. Mains electric is connected with private water and drainage supply plus an oil fired central heating system.
The property is approached via an access lane which leads to the front and side of the cottage providing ample turning and parking space. There is a garden area to front and side mainly laid to lawn with established trees, plants and shrubs plus a handy garden shed. To the front of the property there is access into a small paddock.
Rhiwlas is on the edge of Cilgerran village which has a primary school, post office, two village shops, three pubs, one restaurant (and the Glasshouse Cafe at the Welsh Wildlife Centre which is on the reserve!). There is a church and chapels in the village. Cardigan town is approximately four miles away with supermarkets and other facilities. The nearest beach is about five miles away (Poppit Sands). To find out more about Cilgerran click here and to find out more about Cardigan click here.
Full details are with John Francis of Cardigan, for websiteclick hereor phone 01239 612080. There is no forward chain involved with this sale.
Watch groups re-launch
Parc Slip and Ciilgerran watch groups will both re-launch this spring! Monthly meetings will take place at each centre for children aged between 6 and 12 years old! Please see our fun pages for more information on your local Watch group.
April 10th - Parc Slip Watch group
April 17th - Welsh Wildlife Centre, Cilgerran Watch Group
Great Escape, Welsh Wildlife Centre
Help us to say 'no' to the badger cull. Visit our 'no badger cull' exhibition and sign our petition at the Welsh Wildlife Centre at any time. Then join us at 2pm on Saturday 10 April for 'The Great Escape'. We will be meeting at the Welsh Wildlife Centre in Cilgerran, then walking through the reserve to Cardigan to demonstrate badgers escaping over the bridge to safety, over the Teifi. Please see our badger page for more details on what we are doing to combat the cull.
Saing 'no' to the badger cull, Cardiff
An evening of lectures in the Julian Hodges lecture theatre, Cardiff University. Wednesday 14 April, 6.30pm - 8.30pm. Speakers include Dr Dan Forman (Swansea University), Sarah Kessell (WTSWW) and tv wildlife presenter Iolo Williams. Please see our badger page for more details on what we are doing to combat the cull.
A Tale of Two Islands
Our island adventure began back in 2004 when my (now) husband Dave and I left our sensible, permanent, mainland jobs for a three month stint as Assistant Wardens on Skokholm Island. It’s hard to know how so much enjoyment, hard work and stunning wildlife highlights fitted into these three months, but the following year saw us back for more as we took over as the Wardens.
This was a daunting prospect, but with the help of the Wildlife Trust staff and the support and company of the Islands’ many visitors we revelled in our new life. Skokholm is a small nature reserve 4 miles off the coast of Pembrokeshire. It is a very special place due to its huge population of Manx Shearwaters and other seabirds and became famous through the writings of naturalist Ronald Lockley who lived there for many years. Skokholm is now going through a restoration project to improve the facilities and access for visitors.
Three years later saw us move on to Skomer Island, Skokholms bigger sister. 2008 saw the completion of the Skomer Island Heritage Experience project which was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, CCW, the Tubney Charitable Trust and the Crown Estate. This project hugely improved the facilities on the island. Skomer now boasts new accommodation for guests, volunteers and staff, solar and wind power, composting toilets, solar heated water, live cameras showing life inside a Manx Shearwater burrow and a Puffin-eye view from the cliff tops as well as broadband internet access. All this was quite a contrast to our simpler life on Skokholm where luxuries such as electricity and running water were minimal. Taking over on Skomer had a bit of extra excitement for me as I am the first woman to hold this post.
Having lived and worked on both islands we feel blessed to have seen them through every season. From chilled, still spring mornings to the buzzing hustle and bustle of the seabird summers and the crashing violence of autumn storms. People always ask which our favourite island is and the truth is that we love them both. With the peace and simplicity of Skokholm and the bustle and breathtaking seabird colonies of Skomer, both islands have their own character and appeal.
Now after six unforgettable seasons on the islands we have packed up and shipped our belongings off for the last time. 2010 will see a new Warden and Assistant Warden on Skomer and I wish them as many memorable times as we have been lucky to share. As one past Warden said to me recently ‘islands will always be important, wonderful and formative interludes in the lives of those of us who are so lucky to have lived and loved them.’ Farewell the islands.
Jo Milborrow
Christmas Adoptions
Please note that if you are purchasing one of our wildlife adoptions as a Christmas present, orders must be received by the membership office by 12noon on Monday 14th December to guarantee delivery in time for Christmas. Orders received after this time will not be processed until new year. For further queries please contact Nicola on 01656 724100 or email n.cornock@welshwildlife.org.
10:10
We at the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales are committed to sustainable development and recognise the need for us all to commit to conserving the planets resources. This is why the trust is supporting the 10:10 campaign and ask all of our members to consider signing up to it also. 10:10 is an ambitious project to unite every sector of British society behind one simple idea: that by working together we can achieve a 10% cut in the UK’s carbon emissions in 2010.
Why bother?
Why bother jumping out of the way of a speeding car? Why bother removing a burst appendix?
Cutting 10% in one year is a bold target, but for most of us it’s an achievable one, and is in line with what scientists say we need over the next 18 months. We now know for certain that unless we act quickly to reduce our use of dirty fossil fuels, humanity will face terrible problems in the years to come. Politicians have so far failed to do what needs to be done, so it’s time for ordinary people to step in and show that we’re ready to defend our children’s futures. It’s now or never for the climate.
By signing up to a 10% target we’re not just supporting 10:10 – we’re making it happen. In our homes, in our workplaces, our schools and our hospitals, our galleries and football clubs and universities, we’ll be backing each other up as we take the first steps on the road to becoming a zero-carbon society. It’s easy to feel powerless in the face of a huge problem like climate change, but by uniting everyone behind immediate, effective and achievable action, 10:10 enables all of us to make a meaningful difference.
10:10 is the perfect opportunity to discover what’s possible when we work together.
Have you seen deer in your travels around Wales? Wild deer are relatively widespread in Wales, if not that densely populated, apart from a few key areas. With a handful of notable exceptions, they are also largely absent from Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales nature reserves.
One example of a reserve with a strong deer population is the Castle Woods nature reserve, in Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire, where a healthy population of feral Fallow Deer occupies the Tywi valley alongside the deer in the deer park of the Dinefwr Estate, which are domestic animals belonging to the National Trust.
Having deer on reserves raises a multitude of issues. Native species such as Red Deer can be a great asset where they are in moderate numbers, and many people certainly enjoy watching deer in the countryside. However, in high numbers, they can cause significant damage to conservation sites, for example to mature trees by stripping bark, and preventing all woodland regeneration by browsing regrowth. They certainly can cause economic difficulties to some farmers and foresters by grazing, browsing and trampling crops and young woodland plantations.
On Wildlife Trust reserves where deer have been recorded, we monitor both deer numbers and the impacts that they have on our land. We are also involved for some sites in deer management groups- partnership groups that work together to look at deer numbers and careful management of the population to protect both the landscapes and the deer populations themselves.
To inform our work, we are always glad to receive reports of any deer sightings from anywhere in Wales. We always need to know more about the way that deer are using the landscapes around our reserves, but it is difficult to gather sightings from far and wide without attracting too much attention to the deer- and with attention comes unwanted interest, such as illegal poaching activities. We need your help to gather sightings of deer, whist enabling us to maintain our sensitive management of the local issues that surround these populations.
You can help us with our deer management issues by reporting any deer you may see (either inside or outside Trust reserves), to Lizzie Wilberforce on l.wilberforce@welshwildlife.org
Trust staff fly the flag for Wales at the British Birdwatching Fair
Staff from WTSWW travelled to Rutland Water this August to help out on the Wildlife Trusts’ stand at the massive, national and annual event that is the British Birdwatching Fair. Helping out with the national Wildlife Trusts stand and promoting the WTSWW’s islands of Skomer and Skokholm, attendance at the Fair reaches a massive audience. The event is a joint venture between the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust and the RSPB, and over 20,000 enthusiastic birding visitors attend each year.
This year the theme on the Wildlife Trusts’ stand was all things marine, and staff were even dressed in inflatable rings, arm bands and snorkels to promote the message! The stand is organised by RSWT (Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts) and manned by staff from many different Wildlife Trusts across the UK. Flying the flag for Wales were Rob Parry and Lizzie Wilberforce (WTSWW) and Geoff and Kate Gibbs (North Wales Wildlife Trust), answering questions about the Pembrokeshire islands, and good places to go birding in Wales, as well as discussing critical marine issues and making colourful port hole seascapes and seahorse pencil tops with the children!
The event was a great success, and the Wildlife Trusts won the award for ‘best stand in show’. The stand was certainly popular and busy with visitors for the whole of the event, making it possible to get the marine conservation message spread wide and far. Also impressive, year on year, is the number of people approaching the stand specifically about the Pembrokeshire islands, showing how well known and appreciated the Trust’s island reserves and their wildlife are- by people from all parts of the country.
Roll on Bird Fair 2010!
Community matters
The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales has been involved with a community project at Briton Ferry over the last year. We have helped develop a wildlife area in the village hall, assisting the local community to access funding whilst at the same time working with our corporate partners at Corus to make the community's wishes come true.
Staff from WTSWW, Corus volunteers and volunteers from Briton Ferry have been working hard to turn a green desert into something special for wildlife and people. The community are dedicating parts of the site to growing food and composting whilst the other areas are focussed on wildlife. This has been an enjoyable and rewarding project for all who have been involved.
Corus volunteers help out on site
For more photos of the project click here
The Big Cardiff Garden Wildlife Survey 2009
The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales are embarking on an ambitious new wildlife survey of all the residential gardens of Cardiff, aiming to discover the hidden biodiversity treasures that live in our Capital City.
The Wildlife Trust cannot achieve this alone, so we are asking all residents of Cardiff to get involved in the survey by recording the wildlife in their gardens. As well as wildlife the survey will also identify habitat features such as ponds, hedgerows, log piles and nest boxes all of which help to create mini nature reserves, providing food and homes for some of Wales’ rarest animals.
Thanks to funding from Environment Wales a specialised wildlife recording form will be delivered with the ‘Cardiff Post’ to all households in June this year and will contain further details of how to get involved. In addition a photo guide will be made available on our website to help in species identification.
The results of the survey will give the Wildlife Trust and residents of Cardiff an opportunity to learn more about the plants and animals on our doorstep, which will allow all of us to help appreciate and protect the wildlife we share our lives with.
For any further information please contact
Robert Jones Parry
01656 724100
Eco-status for Dow Corning
Dow Cornings Education centre has recently been awarded eco-centre status. The eco-centre scheme is run by Keep Wales Tidy and runs to similar guidelines as Eco-schools. The centre has an eco-code which ensures that the day to day running of the centre is sustainable by looking at the following aspects:
- Energy
- Rubbish
- Water
- Transport
- Purchasing
- Wildlife
- Raising Awareness
- Environmental Laws
The centre opened in July 2007 and has been built using sustainable materials. The centre uses solar panels to produce electricity, geothermal energy to produce heat and rainwater for flushing the toilets.
The education centre is open all year round to school groups of all ages within The Vale of Glamorgan. The centres most popular programmes are habitat studies, teddy bear trail and eco house but many others are available.
Skokholm Island declared a National Nature Reserve.
The designation seals Skokholm, off Pembrokeshire, as one of the UK's most important havens for wildlife.
At the trust's annual meeting on the 6 December John Lloyd Jones, chairman of the Countryside Council for Wales, said: "Skokholm is home to internationally important colonies of breeding sea birds, including Manx shearwater, puffin, storm petrel, razorbill and guillemots.
"Its designation as a national nature reserve will seal its place as one of the UK's most important havens for wildlife."
The declaration means the trust can work on making the island more accessible to visitors as well as continuing to protect its fragile habitats and wildlife.
Hiding Hibernating Hedgehogs need our Help
The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales are asking people to look out for hiding hedgehogs before they light fires on Bonfire Night..
At this time of year, especially with the recent colder weather, hedgehogs begin to look for places to hibernate and unlit bonfires make an ideal refuge. Hedgehogs numbers are in decline due to a loss of habitat, development pressures, possible loss of food sources due to intensive farming and the possible effects of slug pellets.
Hedgehogs have recently joined the red squirrel and bottlenose dolphin on the UK Biodiversity Action Plan list of species in need of conservation and greater protection.
The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales advise people to help protect hedgehogs by following these guidelines when building a bonfire:
· Build the bonfire as close to the night as possible so there's less chance of a hedgehog moving in
· Make your pile of material next to the bonfire site and re-build the stack before lighting it
· Search the bonfire for hibernating creatures using a torch and rake before starting the fire
· Move any hedgehogs found to a ready-made hedgehog box or somewhere dry and safe away from the fire
· Before bonfire night make an alternative hedgehog home by raking up grass cuttings or autumn leaves into a pile a safe distance from the fire. Hopefully sleepy ‘hogs will choose to snooze there instead of the bonfire
Please follow this advice, it will only take a few minutes to do and could save hedgehogs from a horrible death.
Hedgehogs are great friends of gardeners and are a natural pest-killer. If you want to know more about hedgehogs and how to build a hedgehog-box to help them over the winter please download a fact sheet.
Late Summer and Autumn in the wildlife garden
If you have been able to follow our tips for the spring you should already have seen an increase in wildlife in your garden over the summer - but don’t stop there. Late Summer and Autumn is a preparation time for wildlife as they get ready for the hard times of winter ahead and as wildlife gardeners we can be on hand to help.
Resist the urge to be too tidy: leave windfall fruit where it falls to provide a valuable food supply on which birds and butterflies can feed; allow seed heads to die off naturally on sunflowers, thistles and other plants to provide birds with an energy rich food source; if you want to tidy your lawn, sweep leaves into the bottom of the hedge or in piles in the corner of the garden leaving them undisturbed to provide a cosy over-wintering area for insects, amphibians and small mammals.
Autumn is a good time to clean out used bird nesting boxes. These can harbour the larvae of pests which could be harmful to young chicks in the Spring. Clear out old nesting material and add to the compost heap. Only use boiling water to clean the nest box as any chemicals or insecticides may be toxic to birds.
You may get more opportunity to see Hedgehogs in the garden as they forage around for food before hibernation. They can be encouraged to stay over the winter in your garden by providing suitable hibernation sites. They may use the pile of leaves that you have left or you can create a hedgehog box which not only will be used for hibernation but may also get used for the female to make a nest and rear her young. You can download a leaflet on how to make a hedgehog box here.
Another area that is best cleared out in the autumn to minimise disturbance to wildlife, is the garden pond. An excess of fallen autumn leaves, if left in the pond, can decompose causing stagnation and reduction in the oxygen levels in the water. Any dead vegetation can be raked out gently, however it is important to leave this at the side of the pond for a few days to allow any trapped water creatures to be able to get back into the pond where they belong. After a few days the dead vegetation can either be put on the compost heap, in a pile in the corner of the garden to create another habitat or around plants to provide nutrients for the soil.
From November to March is the best time to plant a new tree. This gives the new tree time to establish new roots while the soil is moist and before temperatures rise and the tree’s energy is used to develop leaves and fruits.
Dig a hole that is larger than the root ball of the tree, adding some water and compost. Place the tree and ease out the roots. Re-cover with soil and heel in the soil around the tree. If the tree is large you may need to stake it, this should be removed after a year or two. Good trees to plant to encourage wildlife are berry producing trees such as Rowan (also known as Mountain Ash) or Whitebeam.