Enhancing public access… and restoring sites for nature! These were the aims of WTSWW’s ‘Accessible Nature’ project, which wrapped up this March. ‘Accessible Nature’ invested £248,323 in restoring our habitats and improving visitor access. We worked on 24 nature reserves across WTSWW’s patch, from May 2024 to March 2026. It was funded by the Nature Networks Fund.

Habitat restoration on SSSIs was a key success. For example, we cleared scrub at one Gower nature reserve to reveal an important, protected geological feature. At Coed Dyrysiog (Brecknock) and Coed Simdde Lwyd (Ceredigion), we installed new fencing. This fencing is now preventing damage from trespassing livestock. Long-term ecological recovery can now begin!

Visitor access has been improved at every project site. We have installed new signage, waymarking, and interpretation to help visitors navigate responsibly. Resurfaced paths and repaired boardwalks will help visitors enormously. You can see the results in reserves like Carmel and Talley Lakes (Carmarthenshire). This work will also reduce the damage to habitats, by helping people to stay on the designated routes. New wooden wildlife sculptures at Castle Woods (Carmarthenshire) and Gelli Hir (Gower) are proving a hit with walkers. Across our whole patch, the fund has also allowed us to keep popular routes open by making safe some diseased and damaged trees. Teifi Marshes (Pembrokeshire) and Coed y Bedw (Glamorgan) are amongst the reserves that have benefitted from this work.

Another aim of the project was to try and encourage more people to visit our nature reserves. We particularly wanted to support people who might lack confidence in wilder environments. We also wanted to work with people who might not have visited our land before. Across the project’s lifetime, we hosted 49 events, and a total of 404 people attended. Guided walks and “walking with cows” sessions helped build visitors' confidence. This is particularly important in areas where essential grazing animals can feel a deterrent.

Our amazing volunteers also played a central role. They contributed conservation work worth over £85,000 to the project. Thank you to everyone who came along! You have cleared brambles, installed signage, built bridges, and so much more. We couldn’t have done it without you.

We are very grateful to our funders for making this work possible; this project was funded by the Nature Networks Programme. The Nature Networks Programme is being delivered by the Heritage Fund, on behalf of the Welsh Government.