Help us secure the future of our reserves
Every gift of £20 will allow us to access grant aid of £200
In today’s economic climate, it’s very hard to ask you, our members and loyal supporters to dig into your pockets and help us again, but we really do need your help more than ever to access a stream of funding with the potential to deliver ten times the value of any amount we raise. This is a wonderful return for wildlife and is possible through the Landfill Communities Fund.
The Landfill Communities Fund makes grants available for environmental improvement projects throughout the UK and was set up from money raised from the Landfill tax introduced in 1996 to encourage waste reduction and recycling. Through this scheme, the Trust has the potential to turn every gift into ten times its value in grant aid. For example, a donation of £20 would allow us to apply for £200 of grant aid to support essential conservation work in your area. The only area which will not benefit as greatly from this invaluable source of income is Ceredigion where, instead, we will be seeking to use any donations to match funds from other grant giving bodies.
Examples of the projects we could be doing are listed below:
East Glamorgan
Lavernock Reserve- ST181681: This beautiful coastal reserve is made up of a number of habitats, principally coastal Jurassic limestone grassland and scrub. The Oak Copse north of Fort Road is home to the elusive Purple Hairstreak butterfly. To ensure that the meadows are maintained and the habitats are kept to a high standard it is important to graze the site,, especially for species such as Dyers Greenweed.. This will involve fencing off sensitive areas and ensuring the stock animals are managed. Scrub also needs to be managed on site to ensure it does not invade the meadows, also the meadows need regular management to encourage meadow species.
Project cost = £15,000 so we need to raise £1,500 through our County Reserves Appeal
West Glamorgan
Melincwrt Falls- SN822020: This site consists of ancient upland oak woodland, stream, and waterfalls. The spectacular eighty foot high waterfall on a tributary of the Neath River was sketched by Turner in 1794. The woodland floor is carpeted with Bluebells, with Enchanter's Nightshade taking over later in the year. A humid and damp atmosphere has been created by the narrow valley allowing for some interesting ferns and bryophytes. To ensure that this site remains healthy a certain amount of tree work needs to be undertaken whilst enhancing the various habitats further through good management.
Project cost = £15,000 so we need to raise £1,500 through our County Reserves Appeal
Elizabeth and Rowe Hardingreserve - SS555906: This site consists of a quarry and surrounding woodland and meadows. The quarry was worked until the middle of 1966, and was at a very early stage of natural colonisation, when the Trust first took it over, with flowers such as Coltsfoot and Wild Strawberry. Mixtures of trees were planted by the Trust to enhance the naturalisation of the quarry floor and spoil heaps. The quarry face is of national geological interest, notified as an SSSI, and makes an impressive amphitheatre in the middle of the reserve. Kestrels have nested on the quarry face and Kingfisher and Grey Wagtail can be seen along the river just outside the reserve. We need specialist equipment and training to keep the quarry face clear of scrub, to preserve the geological features. We also need to cut or graze the meadow at the top of the quarry to stop it becoming overrun with scrub. The woodland around is managed by coppicing sections to vary the structure and to create just the right conditions for woodland wildlife.
Project cost = £10,000 so we need to raise £1,000 through our County Reserves Appeal
Carmarthenshire
Frwd Farm Mire: This is a beautiful reedbed, fen and marshy grassland nature reserve near Pembrey, at the bottom of the Gwendraeth valley in Carmarthenshire. WTSWW manages this spectacular reserve for a number of important habitats - the reedbed and fen are a remaining fragment of a habitat that would once have covered large areas of the lower Gwendraeth. Species of interest such as Cetti’s warblers are also present, singing heartily from the reedbed scrub, and scarce plants such as the marsh pea and frogbit grow in the marsh grassland and the associated ditches.
To protect these threatened species and to keep the reserve in good condition, it needs cutting for hay and grazing by cattle in the summer. The old and collapsing fences are in urgent need of replacement. The cost of managing this site is currently estimated at around £25,000.
Project cost = £25,000 so we need to raise £2,500 through our County Reserves Appeal
Pembrokeshire
Pengelli Woods- SN123396: This stunning sessile oak woodland sustains a wide variety of wildlife; it is part of the largest block of oak woodland to be found in west Wales. We wish to manage these woods for the elusive Dormouse, of which there is evidence. To do this we need to ensure that the woodland is coppiced and managed appropriately with nest boxes placed around the site. This will also require us to monitor the site for activity. Pengelli is rich in wildlife, including Badger, the rare Barbastelle bat and Polecats, whilst Redstart and Wood Warblers sing heartily from the canopy.
Project cost = £25,000 so we need to raise £2,500 through our County Reserves Appeal
Ceredigion
Penderi Cliffs - SN553734 & SN554738: This spectacular and hidden reserve is directly on the coastal path and yet most people do not realise that it is there. Once you are in these hanging oak woods, amongst the Campion and Bluebells, the contrast with the intensively farmed coastline is stark. We need to improve access to this stunning reserve so that people can enjoy the peace and tranquillity of this lost world.
Project cost: Improving the path, signs and information boards will cost us in the region of £5,000
Coed Penglanowen and Old Warren Hill - SN611786: These two beautiful woodlands are adjacent to one another, just 5 minutes drive from Aberystwyth. Currently there are several trees which are considered to be dangerous. Keeping these reserves safe and open to the public will involve us re-routing paths and removing parts of trees, upgrading old boardwalks, bridges and steps and tending to other walkways. Without this work we would be obliged to shut the reserves to public access, something we don’t want to happen. We also need to remove Rhododendrons which have seeded around the sites in order that they do not crowd out native species.
Project Cost: All this work will cost us, in the region of, £15,000.
As funding becomes increasingly scarce and competition for funds intensifies we need your support to tip the balance back to wildlife. Any donation you give us would allow us to apply for at least the equivalent amount, and, where there is an appropriate landfill, 10 times the amount you donate.
Donations can be made by completing the donation form and returning it with your cheque to: The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales, The Nature Centre, Fountains Road, Tondu, Bridgend, CF32 0EH. Your gift will help in the process of recycling rubbish into revenue for our reserves – tipping the balance back to nature.