West Glamorgan and the Gower has 25 nature reserves which Paul Thornton (Senior Wildlife Trust Officer), his team and volunteers manage.
Paul Thornton (Snr WTO) Demonstrating his Spoon Making Ability
Recent highlights 2011: over half of WTSWW reserves in this area are predominantly woodland. In 2009, Senior WTO Paul Thornton and his team also planted up 2 ha of improved grassland to create a new woodland reserve, Coed Barcud.
Over 100 nest boxes have been installed across 12 reserves including dormouse boxes in Gelli Hir/Priors Wood, and bat boxes at Killay Marsh.
The team has cleared extensive rhododendron and cherry laurel, especially in Gelli Hir and Priors Wood. A programme of thinning and coppicing has also been started in Gelli Hir, with coppice coupes being cut to create dormouse habitat, and thinned areas bringing more light to the woodland floor,encouraging more vigorous growth of hazel, honeysuckle, and other understorey species important for wildlife.
Sleeping Dormouse Photo by Bev Lewis
Derelict coppice in Hambury wood has been brought back into rotation.
Future work: Through the next 3 winters, Paul and his team will continue with the ambitious conservation thinning programme in Gelli Hir and coppicing plans in Hambury.
Next winter, they are planning thinning and glade creation throughout Priors Wood. Ring-barking will increase the quantity of standing deadwood which is incredibly important for invertebrates.
New works will begin at Craig Cilhendre and Melin Cwrt with conservation thinning being carried out over the next 5 years.
Thinning of beech (as part of the restoration) will be carried out at Kilvrough Woods to encourage ash regeneration. Some of these activities require a great time commitment and investment in machinery, and your support is needed to help us meet the costs of this essential conservation work.
In West Glamorgan we had a busy summer with staff and volunteers busy with the usual vegetation management on our paths, fencing, Himalayan balsam pulling bracken bashing, grassland management etc.
Alongside this routine work we delivered a small p... As I write this in early March it appears spring has sprung, in the woods there are the first of the spring flowers, signs of bluebells and ramsomes pushing through the soil and leaf litter, possibly some birds checking out the recently sited nest boxe...
