NEWS

Dormice helped by local school

Pupils at Hawarden High have been very busy making dormouse boxes for a local wildlife reserve.


The sleepy dormice are now awake after their long winter sleep and thanks to pupils at Hawarden High School they now have some new homes up at the Wildlife Trust Reserve waiting for them to move into. Pupils who are studying Environmental Studies at the School made dormouse boxes as part of their course and came out to the reserve in Afonwen to help put them up with Rhian Hughes, Dormouse Project Officer at North Wales Wildlife Trust and Sarah Brown, Flintshire Biodiversity Officer.

This work is part of the North Wales Wildlife Trust’s Dormouse Project which is looking to find new dormouse populations across North Wales and providing more dormouse boxes where we know there are dormice present so that they are able to move into new areas.
Over the last few months 400 new boxes have been made and put up over North Wales and surveys have started and will continue throughout the summer, hopefully finding some new dormouse sites and some young in the next few months.
Rhian, Dormouse Project Officers says “we are very excited about the start of the survey season, especially after being so busy making and putting up all the boxes, we are hoping to find some new sites where dormice haven’t been known to be before. Dormice are nocturnal and live up in the trees so its if very hard to see them, the surveys of the boxes are one of the only times that you see dormice which is why the dormouse boxes and the surveys are so important.”

If you would like to become involved in this project, either box making, coming out to survey or if you have seen a dormouse please contact Rhian on 01352 810469 or 07764 897417.

New otter holt built at Y Ddol Uchaf

In January a group of volunteers spent the day building a new otter holt at Y Ddol Uchaf Nature Reserve.

The holt has been built with both an entrance and exit providing the female otter with an escape route if needed. This helps her to feel secure enough to raise her young.

The entrances and pathways are still open on the old holt so hopefully there will be some signs of use with the new holt in the near future. Inside it has a dark area, which is needed for the female to breed and raise her cubs. Everybody enjoyed the day (thanks for all your hard work folks!).

If you are interested in volunteering with the North Wales Wildlife Trust, please contact Resi Tomat on 01248 351541.

Working with Marine Awareness North Wales

North Wales Wildlife Trust and Marine Awareness North Wales have joined forces to create a strong voice for North Wales' outstanding marine environment.
Marine Awareness North Wales, based in Bangor, was established in October 2001 with the aim of raising awareness and promoting marine conservation issues throughout the local and national community. Since then MANW have been involved with a number of marine related events, activities and projects; most notably the Harbour Porpoise Action Plan, the Centres for Marine Awareness and Education and the Marine Education Outreach Scheme.

Particular emphasis is given to the education of young people in the hope that they will grow up with love and respect for the marine environment. Over the last three years MANW's increasingly successful Marine Education Outreach Scheme has reached over 2000 primary school pupils throughout North Wales.


The majority of MANW's work is run and achieved solely by dedicated volunteers. Since its inception MANW volunteers have been actively involved in the conservation of harbour porpoises in Welsh waters at all levels, from establishing and undertaking its Local Biodiversity Action Plan in Anglesey waters through to raising awareness in local schools. Over the years the group has developed from an action group run from the spare room of a founder member's house to an established organisation working throughout North Wales both independently and in partnership. Over the last year NWWT and MANW have been working closely together on awareness and conservation projects and this new partnership is exciting news for marine conservation efforts here in North Wales.

Marine Awareness North Wales will become North Wales Wildlife Trusts' very own marine group sharing expertise, knowledge and experience to become a stronger force working to conserve North Wales' marine wildlife.

For more information regarding Marine Awareness North Wales please contact:
Nia Jones,
376 High Street, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 1YE
E-Mail: nia@saveourseas.co.uk
Tel: (01248) 355030

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Snowdonia Wildlife Gardening Project
now with the Wildlife Trust

After 3 successful years housed with the Snowdonia National Park, the Snowdonia Wildlife Gardening Project has now moved to the Wildlife Trust offices in Bangor. It is hoped that through the move, the project will be able to continue to attract funding, and forge stronger links with the Wildlife Trusts' 'Wild About Gardens' Project.

Anna Williams, the Snowdonia Wildlife Gardening Project Officer is no stranger to the Trust as she is also a leader of the Waunfawr Watch Group. She said about the move, "As I have seen there is a tremendous amount of public interest in giving a helping hand to wildlife. And throughout the UK the Wildlife Trusts have many exciting wildlife gardening projects providing help and ideas to people. I hope to be able to use this experience to develop my work and build on the success of recent years."
This year's Wildlife Gardening competition was as successful as ever, with more schools taking part, and more entrants from Anglesey. The standard of gardens was remarkable, and the judges were highly impressed with the passion and knowledge of the gardeners. Contact Anna Williams for more information about the competition.
The 'Wild About Gardens' project has recently updated its website. Why not check it out when you have time on www.wildaboutgardens.org? The website has a much cleaner and fresher feel to it, and there are now a number of bloggers who write about their own gardens, how they garden and the wildlife they find there.
The Snowdonia Wildlife Gardening Project also has its own website which you can visit on www.gardenforwildlife.co.uk. You will be able to find out what we do locally and access our information pack.
Anna Williams con be contacted on AnnaWilliams@wildlifetrustswales.org
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Phoenix comes to the Rescue

Thanks to the Phoenix Project, which began in November 2004, a farmhouse, outbuildings and a cottage on Cors Goch nature reserve on Anglesey are being renovated to further the wildlife conservation of the site.

The Phoenix Project, which began in November 2004, is a three year project, funding a diverse range of works on 18 nature reserves managed by the North Wales Wildlife Trust with a further 79 nature reserves belonging to other partners throughout the Objective One area of Wales.


Works include removing damaging invasive plants such as Japanese knotweed and sea buckthorn; restoration of traditional boundaries such as hedgerows and dry-stonewalls; extending and upgrading footpaths; the creation of buffer zones along water courses; and upgrading visitor facilities to help people enjoy these wildlife havens.
The Phoenix Project is part-funded by European Objective One funding (Priority 5 Measure 7) through the Welsh Assembly Government (£1.4 million), which is being matched by partner funding, both cash and in-kind.

Along with the North Wales Wildlife Trust, the partners are Bridgend County Borough Council, Butterfly Conservation; Countryside Council for Wales (CCW), Gwent Wildlife Trust, RSPB and the Wildlife Trust for South and West Wales, with CCW being responsible for overall project management.
The projects are protecting over 4,000 hectares of Wales' most important wildlife sites, whilst creating or safeguarding local jobs, increasing opportunities for volunteering in the environmental sector and increasing awareness of and accessibility to some of the most important landscapes and wildlife sites in Wales.

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