We were pleased to welcome some new volunteers this month and made good progress on our seasonal habitat management at Ystradfawr and Vicarage Meadows.

The wet weather and wind brought down a few more ash trees in Pwll y wrach. Notably a large tree on the lip of the waterfall fell taking a chunk of fencing with it. Volunteers helped with clearing fallen trees off the path and doing path and steps repairs ready for visitors enjoying the winter break. 

At Coed Dyrysiog the NNF4 funded work to thin the beech trees in favour of the oaks was completed. It was nice to see that several oak trees tangled in the beech have been released. Acorns need a high level of light to successfully grow into trees. Over the next few years we will monitor the gaps to make sure that there are some young oak trees filling the gaps made. You may see “Monolith” beech tree trunks here and there. A monolith is where the branches have been removed but the trunk left to provide a “standing dead-wood”. This creates a home for all the invertebrates and fungi which live on dead wood. In time woodpeckers may also bore holes in the rotting wood for nesting. 

This project is funded by the Nature Networks Programme. It is being delivered by the Heritage Fund, on behalf of the Welsh Government.