What a wet January though it’s quite good when you are driving in about 60 fence stakes by hand. This has been the focus of a Powys Local Nature Partnership Project which is funded by Welsh Government. Each area of Wales has a “Local Nature Partnership” and in recent years they have been given the job of distributing funding for biodiversity improvements.

At Cae Eglwys we had already prepared the fence- line back in November and so were keen to get going on the job. On the day we had a tidy turnout for the time of year and weather and made a great start to the installation before going home to dry off.

We have chosen Sweet chestnut posts to use at Cae Eglwys. These are untreated cleaved hardwood stakes. It is great to use less chemicals and they should last just as well. The downside is that they are sourced from further away (southern England), they are also quite varied in size and shape. Some of the stakes needed trimming so that they would fit in our post bangers!

Ystradfawr has also benefited from the project. It has paid for a contractor to chip all the scrub brash cut by volunteers last year. At Ystradfawr we actively manage the scrub in some of the fields for the benefit of Rhos pasture habitat and wildflowers. By chipping the brash, brambles are less likely to take over, the dreaded Himalayan balsam is easier to pull out, and the lizards will use chip mounds for sunbathing.

Volunteers from the Brecon group and Valleys joined together for a combined effort to fix kissing gates and pull scrub in the central Tip field. This field is particularly loved by the Marsh Fritillaries so it is best to keep it suitable for them. We were glad that day to have the 4WD vehicle from Brecon to carry in the tools and equipment.

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