Wild About Gwent April 2012.pdf - Gwent Wildlife Trust

Gwent Wildlife Trust 

Ymddiriedolaeth Natur Gwent 

Wild About Gwent 

APRIL 2012 

An Interview with Trevor Evans MBE 

Interview by Dr Stephanie Tyler 

In the New Year, one of GWT’s vice-presidents, Trevor 

Evans, was deservedly honoured with an MBE for services 

to conservation. Trevor is well known in the county for 

the enormous amount of work he has done to further our 

knowledge of plants and, in particular, for his acclaimed 

641-page ‘The Flora of Monmouthshire’, published in 2007 

when he was in his early 80s. 

Wild daffodils at Margaret’s Wood (Rebecca Price) 

Long-standing GWT member, volunteer, ex-Trustee, and expert 

botantist, Dr Stephanie Tyler, has had the privilege of knowing 

Trevor for over thirty years. She has spent many happy hours out 

surveying with him, listening to his tales and enjoying his wicked 

sense of humour. 

In mid-February, she caught up with Trevor at his home in 

Chepstow and asked him a few questions 

Stephanie: Where did you spend your childhood? 

Trevor: I was born in Portskewett and went to the infants’ 

school at Caldicot. Then my father, who received a Distinguished 

Conduct Medal for bravery in the First World War, got a job at 

the secondary school in Chepstow and we moved to the town 

where I have lived ever since. My schooling was disrupted by 

contracting osteomyelitis when I was ten. That meant six months 

in hospital and two years recuperating away from school. 

S: What triggered your interest in plants? 

T: In my teens, I was passionate about cricket and often went to 

the Cheltenham Festival to watch matches. I frequently looked 

around the stands for discarded cigarette cards – many people 

smoked then and would throw the packets away. It was a set of 

wildflower cards that was the stimulus for my interest. 

I had hoped to go to university and had been good at maths and 

biology, but many teachers were called up to serve in the Second 

World War, among them my maths teacher. Replacements were 

difficult to come by and my marks suffered from all the changes, 

so I went to Teacher Training College at Caerleon with biology 

as my main subject. 

Afterwards, I opted to stay in Monmouthshire and got a job at the 

Boys’ School in Chepstow with the provision that for two years I 

would do supply teaching. I taught at Sudbrook, Portskewett, and at 

Earlswood and Itton, as Acting Head. Then I returned to Chepstow 

Secondary School where I remained until my retirement. 

Throughout my teaching career, I gradually developed my 

knowledge of plants – spending hours out in the field and puzzling 

over identifications using keys in such books as Bentham & 

Hooker and Clapham, Tutin, & Warburg. I only knew the English 

names of plants until about 1969 when the first British Plant 

Atlas came out. Franklyn Perring, the author of the first atlas, and 

Arthur Wade of the National Museum were instrumental in my 

becoming Botanical Recorder for Monmouthshire vice-county 35 

in 1972, a post I have held for forty years. 

S: When did you decide to write the revised and updated Flora 

of Monmouthshire? 

Continued on page 2 

Gwent Wildlife Trust, Seddon House, Dingestow, Monmouth NP25 4DY 

Tel: 01600 740600 Fax: 01600 740299 Email: info@gwentwildlife.org Web: www.gwentwildlife.org 

Reg Charity No: 242619 Limited Liability Company No: 812535

NEWS IN BRIEF 

Trevor Evans MBE 

Warbler Arrives 

Just in Time for 

Six Nations 

The common yellowthroat, with its deep 

yellow chest and a black mask about 

its head is a familiar sight to many 

birdwatchers … in Florida. 

So just hours after someone walking 

their dog on a February morning 

spotted one in a Rhiwderin hedgerow 

and posted images online, hundreds 

of birdwatchers from all over the UK 

flocked to the scene with their cameras 

and binoculars. 

Continued from page 1 

T: I had intended to for a long time but 

could not embark on the project until I 

retired in 1984. Then I held meetings, wrote 

letters and encouraged recording in every 

tetrad (2km by 2km square) in the vice 

county. We had an annual meeting of local 

botanists, and I led many field meetings 

and sent out identification tips for difficult 

plants. I entered all the data I received from 

volunteers onto master cards – this was 

before computers. 

There was a delay when my wife, Thelma, 

sadly died of a brain tumour in 1999 after a 

long illness, and it took me many months to 

feel motivated again. Eventually, the atlas 

was published in 2007. 

S: When did you join the Gwent Wildlife 

Trust? 

T: It must have been in the late 1960s. I 

was Chairman of GWT’s Scientific Sub- 

Committee for many years with [Secretary] 

Beatrix Broadfoot, Patrick Humphreys, cofounder 

of the Trust, and Barbara Thorne 

who initiated the purchase of Magor Marsh. 

S: What changes have you seen in 

Monmouthshire in your lifetime? 

T: The loss of flower-rich fields and their 

replacement with large monocultures has 

had a major impact. Peoples’ obsession 

with tidiness in the town and countryside 

has destroyed much of interest. Chepstow 

Cemetery used to have hundreds of 

Autumn Ladies Tresses but now these are 

mown off to make the grass look tidy and 

flower beds have extended into the rich 

turf. 

Many of the broad-leaved woodlands that 

I knew in my youth, such as The Minnetts 

(now Slade Woods) and Hardwick Wood 

where I recorded three hundred species 

of plant including many Greater Butterfly 

Orchids, were felled and conifers planted 

instead. This afforestation destroyed many 

woods and their flora. 

I used to see flooding on the Gwent 

Levels and high water levels in the reens 

[the drainage ditches that criss-cross 

the wetlands]. Now the sea wall and 

pump drainage has destroyed former rich 

habitats. 

S: Finally, what do you feel are the main 

issues facing conservation in the UK and 

globally? 

T: The growth of the human population 

has to be curbed. We live in a world with 

finite resources and must live more simply. 

The world will suffer shortages of water, 

food, housing and work. This is already 

happening. 

An abridged version of Trevor’s interview 

– for the full transcript, please visit our 

website – www.gwentwildlife.org. 

New Airfield Opens 

Lapwings in flight (Scott Grant Crichton) 

Common yellowthroat 

(Wolfgang Wander) 

Scott Grant Crichton, of Llanvihangel 

Crucorney, has been receiving some unusual 

company this year. 

Enormous flocks of lapwings have made a 

field near his home their personal Heathrow. 

Scott estimates the flock to be possibly 

three hundred birds when normally he 

might see thirty or forty at a time. 

GWENT WILDLIFE TRUST x WILD ABOUT GWENT

NEWS IN BRIEF 

Wasp spider (Steve Davis) 

Iolo & Alice at the Blaenau Gwent Environmental Awards 2011 (Veronika Brannovic) 

Young Volunteer 

Embraces Opportunities 

Alice Hadley started volunteering at Ebbw 

Vale’s Environmental Resource Centre (ERC) 

when she was seventeen, knowing she’d like 

somehow to weave her way into a career in 

conservation. “When I first started going into 

the field of conservation, it was just an idea”, 

she says, “I didn’t know a lot about wildlife and 

the environment”. 

But she knew it was a field she wanted to 

explore. So with the support of the ERC 

staff, Alice started to soak up practical 

experience, learning how to display and 

analyse data. She put her records into 

spreadsheets and sent them to the local 

biodiversity records centre. She also 

learned how to get others engaged, leading 

her own walks around the ERC grounds and 

introducing people to the diverse species 

of plants around the ERC. Alice prepared 

activities for school workshops and taught 

people how to make their own bird boxes. 

The staff allowed her to nurture her skills 

independently by giving Alice projects such 

as surveying the ERC habitats and drawing 

a plan for an upcoming pond monitoring 

project. “Because they gave me the 

responsibility for carrying out tasks of my 

own”, Alice says, “and involving me in their 

events programme, I am more confident in 

my abilities and feel capable of coping with 

a range of different situations”. 

Alice picked up additional skills such as 

willow weaving, felt making, spinning wool, 

sowing, constructing bird feeders, and 

nest boxes. She also learned what makes 

the local ecology tick by getting up close 

with dozens of different species, such as 

amphibians and reptiles, bees, hedgehogs, 

and bats. Alice also volunteers at the 

Silent Valley Nature Reserve, carrying out 

wildflower surveys and a nest box round. 

When the ERC was nominated for an 

award at the end of 2011, Alice was 

asked to be filmed and speak about 

her participation in the ERC. This led 

to her attending the Blaenau Gwent 

Environmental Awards 2011 where she 

met Welsh naturalist and TV presenter, 

Iolo Williams. 

Alice is just finishing up her A Levels. 

She says her experience volunteering 

played an enormous part securing a 

place at university where she plans to 

study conservation. “I would recommend 

volunteering with the ERC, Silent Valley or 

any of the GWT’s centres and reserves”, 

she says. “It gives you a hobby, something 

to be interested in and care about. It 

allows you to develop knowledge and 

understanding about nature, make some 

lifelong friends and most importantly have 

a lot of fun!” 

Lottery is a 

Big Boost for 

Wildlife Trusts 

People’s Postcode Lottery (PPL) 

was launched in England in 2005. 

Their lottery brand and concept was 

already well-known in Sweden and The 

Netherlands where 40% of households 

play and have raised to date £16.3 

million for its charity partners alone, 

with many more millions being given to 

other small local projects. Wildlife Trust 

Wales (WTW) was lucky enough to be 

chosen as an official charity partner 

after the lottery branched into Wales in 

2010. 

Recently, Gwent Wildlife Trust 

Fundraising Manager, Alison McGachy, 

represented WTW in Edinburgh where 

she received a cheque for £80,470 (of 

which £11,000 is given to GWT) for our 

first charity draw. 

If you want more information on 

the work of PPL, please go to their 

website at www.postcodelottery. 

com. 

April 2012

NEWS IN BRIEF 

Celebrate our Coast by Walking 

the Welsh Coastal Path 

Otter (Richard Bakere) 

Prisk Wood (Jane Corey) 

Orb Electrical Steels 

Turns Industrial 

Setting into Fertile 

Ground 

Orb Electrical Steels, based close to 

Newport’s iconic Transporter Bridge 

and Platinum corporate member, is 

working with GWT to make their site 

more wildlife-friendly. What they’ve 

achieved shows how organisations can 

make significant changes to a site’s 

environment with just a little TLC. 

Orb Electrical Steels has: 

• planted a native woodland – 

introducing a variety of fast growing 

shrubs and small trees to provide an 

attractive mix of blossom, berries, 

fruit, and nuts throughout the growing 

season, to benefit a variety of wildlife. 

• created an ornamental tree avenue 

– demonstrating that enhancing 

biodivesity need not be incompatible 

with improving the appearance of the 

site. Trees have been chosen for their 

attractiveness as well as benefits to 

wildlife. 

• planted an orchard – preserving some 

of the traditional local varities of fruit 

tree as well as providing a harvest crop 

of fruit for employees. Orchards can 

make a wonderful habitat for wildlife 

and are a particularly important early 

nectar source for insects. 

A mixture of employees, local school 

children, and retired workers have all 

worked hard in turning the Orb Electrical 

Steels site into a rich natural setting. 

Richard Bakere – Reserves Officer 

This May, GWT is celebrating the opening 

of the new all Wales coastal footpath. 

This great achievement is an excellent 

opportunity to get out and enjoy the rich 

coastal wildlife of Gwent. From the rich 

mudflats, noisy with feeding waders to 

the lush flower-rich grasslands along our 

coastal margins, this is truly one of Gwent’s 

best kept secrets. This wildlife corridor 

passes through many great areas for 

wildlife including two GWT nature reserves: 

the Solutia Meadows SSSI reserve and 

Peterstone Wentlooge Marshes SSSI 

(a sensitive refuge area agreed with the 

Peterstone Wildfowlers). 

So on Sunday 6th May, to mark the 

occasion, we will be encouraging people to 

walk the new path. Newport City Council 

will be leading a city to sea walk, leaving 

from the Newport Transporter Bridge at 

11am and passing through the Solutia 

Meadows SSSI reserve on the way to finish 

at the Newport Wetlands reserve. For more 

information please look at www.newport. 

gov.uk/countryside. 

There will be guided walks around Solutia 

Meadows delivered with the help of 

the Wildlife in Newport Group (WING) 

throughout the afternoon between noon 

and 4pm, each taking about an hour. The 

species-rich hay meadows of this site are 

alive with the colours of southern marsh 

orchids and hay rattle at this time of year. 

Alternatively, please walk any section of 

the path you wish and make a note of the 

wildlife you see on your way. If you share 

these records with the South East Wales 

Biological Records Centre (www.sewbrec. 

org.uk), we can form a lasting record of the 

coastal wildlife of our county. 

Guests Get Warm Welcome at 

Magor Marsh 

Our Magor Marsh nature reserve was 

recently visited by Welsh Environment 

Minister and Assembly Minister for 

Newport East, John Griffiths. He met 

Helen and Kathy, our Community 

Education Officers, as well as Denis 

Jackson, People & Wildlife Manager, and 

GWT Chairman, Dave Richards. 

The minister said he appreciated how well 

maintained the reserve is, through the 

work of the Reserves Department and 

the volunteer ‘Gwent Levellers’ group. He 

was also very interested in the educational 

aspect of the work at Magor after seeing 

the local school children engaging so 

closely with nature at the Marsh. The 

issues of a potential M4 Relief road are 

important to him so he spent considerable 

time observing and asking questions. 

John Griffiths, AM, visits Magor Marsh 

(Kathy Barclay) 


Lauri tackles one of her team (Annette Murray) 

NEWS IN BRIEF 

Lauri & Gabi: Off to Pastures New 

GWT’s Lauri Maclean started in 2002 

in the administration department 

before moving into the Conservation 

Department and eventually becoming 

Reserves Manager. 

Over those years Lauri shaped 

so many projects. Lauri was a 

key driving force in developing 

Wyeswood Common into a 

wood-pasture landscape and 

helping to obtain the £636,000 

required for the project. She 

built the reserves team up from 

a single officer to a team of 

four and updated management 

plans for all GWT reserves. 

She oversaw the purchase 

and development of the Pentwyn flock of 

Hebridean and Hill Radnor Sheep, built 

excellent relationships with Countryside 

Council for Wales, RSPB, Environment 

Agency Wales, Forestry Commission Wales, 

and all the local authorities in Gwent. She 

negotiated leases at Great Traston Meadows 

(now Solutia Meadows SSSI reserve), and 

organised management agreements at 

Cuhere Wood, Lower Minnets Field, and 

Beacon Hill with Forestry Commission Wales. 

Gabi (John Stalley) 

GWT MATCH FUND APPEAL – A THANK YOU 

Landfill Communities Fund – Success for Two out of Three so Far 

We want to thank everyone who is 

contributing to GWT’s Match Fund Appeal 

for their support. This generosity has enabled 

GWT to acquire nearly £80,000 from the 

Landfill Communities Fund. 

Thanks to donations of nearly £10,000, GWT 

was able to qualify for two grants using 

the fund for much needed habitat work at 

some of most important reserves. Due to 

press embargoes, we’re unable to report the 

details here but as soon as we are able, we’ll 

have something up on our website. 

Lauri was always approachable and found 

time to discuss any issues no matter how 

much pressure she was under. Lauri was a 

very modest person who never celebrated her 

achievements. So we will. Thank you Lauri. 

Lauri’s departure to go and work 

for the Wildfowl and Wetlands 

Trust at Slimbridge has left a large 

hole in the Reserves department. 

But we all wish you a very 

successful future. 

For those of you who haven’t 

yet heard, Gabi Horup, our 

Conservation Officer, will also be 

leaving us for pastures new. Gabi 

has accepted an offer to work as 

Ecologist with Nicholas Pearson 

Associates, based in Bath, a move 

which will better allow the pursuit of some 

personal life ambitions over the coming years. 

Gabi has contributed enormously to the work 

of GWT throughout her three years with us, 

demonstrating huge commitment, talent and 

knowledge. She has been invaluable to GWT 

and the wider environment team will certainly 

miss her greatly. 

A big thank you Gabi and good luck with 

your new position! 

And we’re still awaiting word of a third 

grant. So keep your eyes peeled for further 

news. 

Once again we want to thank everyone 

for their support and donations. But more 

needs to be done to protect our wildlife 

and keep our countryside beautiful for 

generations. We still need your help. To 

make a donation to the GWT Match Fund 

Appeal, call us on 01600 740600 or Text 

WILD22 £10 to 70070 or go to www. 

gwentwildlife.org to donate online. 

Cowslips (Zsuzsanna Bird) 

Other 

Corporate 

News 

We are purchasing our much needed 

hedge trimmers and tractor servicing 

from Frank Sutton Ltd. This family 

run business is a trusted local dealer, 

based in Raglan, and is also a Bronze 

Corporate member of Gwent Wildlife 

Trust. 

Having taken advice from Gwent Ecology, 

GWT’s consultancy business, Ancre Hill 

Vineyard, our latest Bronze corporate 

member, has made significant changes 

to its proposed winery development to 

preserve a species-rich hedgerow which 

provided habitat suitable for dormice and 

other declining species. 

Keeping in 

Touch 

We are always very keen to keep in 

touch with our membership, via our 

literature, facebook, twitter, emails and by 

telephone. In particular, if you would like 

to hear our latest news and events, please 

do get in touch with Rachael on rdaniels@ 

gwentwildlife.org and let us know your 

email address. If you haven’t received an 

email from us this year, then you’re not on 

our list and are missing out on the latest 

information. We may also get in touch with 

you by telephone – if you would prefer 

NOT to receive phone calls from us, drop 

Rachael an email to let her know. 


GWT LOCAL GROUPS 

Pheasant (Neil Aldridge) 

LOCAL GROUP CONTACTS 

Abergavenny Local Group 

Keith White 01873 852036 

keith.white@tesco.net 

Blaenau Gwent Local Group 

Rodney Morris 01495 308056 

remorris66@mailshack.com 

Chepstow Local Group 

Hilary Lee 01291 689326 

hilary-lee@tiscali.co.uk 

GWT Office 01600 740600 

info@gwentwildlife.org 

Monmouth Local Group 

Alison Willott 01600 740286 

alisonwillott@hotmail.com 

Torfaen Local Group 

Vicky Hannaford 01495 759139 

v.hannaford@hotmail.co.uk 

Usk Local Group 

David Gale 01291 673141 

david@gale4241.fsworld.co.uk 

Wildlife in Newport Group 

Roger James 01633 263374 

smallranunculus@btinternet.com 

For more information on our work tasks 

and any volunteering, see the GWT 

Events Guide 2012 or go to 

www.gwentwildlife.org. 

Harvest mouse (Amy Lewis) 

April to July 2012 

To book on any GWT event, contact 

GWT on 01600 740600, the ERC on 

01495 307525, or email us on info@ 

gwentwildlife.org. Full details of all these 

courses can be found in the GWT Events 

Guide 2012 or on www.gwentwildlife.org. 

APRIL 2012 

Trip to Silent Valley 

April (date TBA) 

Contact: GWT Abergavenny Local Group, 

01873 852036 

Please contact Keith White on the above 

number to indicate your interest 

Wildlife in Gwent 

Speaker: Colin Titcombe 

Tuesday 10th April, 7.30pm 

The Ballroom, Glen-yr-Afon House Hotel, 

Usk 

Contact: GWT Usk Local Group, 

01291 673141 

Cost: £2, under 16s FREE (accompanied by 

an adult only) 

Birds of Silent Valley 

Leader: Tom Eyles 

Wednesday 11th April, 10.30am – 12.30am 

Silent Valley Nature Reserve, near Ebbw Vale 

Contact: ERC, 01495 307525 

Cost: FREE 

Spring Wellbeing 

Thursday 12th April, 11am – 4pm 

ERC, Ebbw Vale 

Contact: ERC, 01495 307525 

Cost: FREE 

Refreshments available 

Spring Fun Day at the ERC 

Wednesday 18th April, 1pm – 4pm 


Contact: ERC, 01495 307525 

Cost: FREE 


A Beginner’s Guide to Woodland 

Management 

Tutor: Tim Green 

Friday 27th April, 10.30am – 3pm 

Springdale Farm, near Usk 

Contact: GWT, 01600 740600 

Cost: £14 members, £18 non members 

BOOKING ESSENTIAL 

Cwmtillery Lakes Bat Walk 

In partnership with the Valleys Bat 

Group 

Leader: Richard Poole 

Friday 27th April, 7.45pm – 10pm 

Cwmtillery Lakes, near Abertillery 

Contact: GWT, 01600 740600 

Cost: FREE 


The History of Millstone 

Extraction 

Tutor: Bob Trett & Roger James 

Saturday 28th April, 11am – 2.30pm 

Pentwyn Farm and Prisk Wood, near 

Monmouth 

Contact: GWT, 01600 740600 



MAY 2012 

Spider Identification 

Tutor: Mike Kilner 

Saturday 5th May, 11am – 4pm 

Magor Marsh, near Newport 

Contact: GWT, 01600 740600 



Permaculture Basics 

Tutor: Veronika Brannovic 

Wednesday 9th May, 10.30am – 3pm 


Contact: ERC, 01495 307525 



Refreshments provided 

Grow, Make and Show 

Saturday 12th May, 2pm – 4.30pm 


Contact: ERC, 01495 307525 

Cost: FREE 


Grand Plant Sale and Bazaar 

Hosts: GWT Chepstow Local Group 

Saturday 19th May, 9.30am – 12.30pm 

Palmer Centre, Cormeilles Square, 

Chepstow 

Contact: GWT Chepstow Local Group, 

01291 689326 

Cost: FREE 

Offers of help and plants to Hilary Lee on 

the number above, please 

Open Gardens at Coed Cefn 

In aid of GWT 

Sunday 20th May, 2pm – 6pm 

Dingestow, near Monmouth (this event will 

be sign posted from the A40) 

Contact: GWT Monmouth Local Group, 

01600 740286 


Cost: £3.50 

Grassland Restoration – 

Countryside Management Association 

Training Day 

Host: Tim Green 

Friday 25th May, 10am – 4pm 

Pentwyn Farm and Wyeswood Common, 

near Monmouth 

Contact: GWT, 01600 740600 

Cost: FREE to CMA members, £30 to non 

CMA members 



Summer Fun Day at Magor Marsh 

Hosts: Kathy Barclay & Helen John 

Saturday 26th May, 1pm – 4pm 


Contact: GWT, 01600 740600 

Cost: £1 children, adults FREE 

JUNE 2012 

Trip to Sennybridge 

June (date TBA) 

Contact: GWT Abergavenny Local Group, 

01873 852036 

Please contact Keith White on the above 

number to indicate your interest 

Wild Explorers 


Wednesday 6th June, 10.30am – 3pm 

Silent Valley Nature Reserve, near Ebbw 

Vale 

Contact: ERC, 01495 307525 

Cost: FREE 


Botany Basics 

Tutor: Dave Green 

Thursday 7th June, 10.30am – 3pm 


Contact: ERC, 01495 307525 




Bumblebees for Beginners 

Tutor: Marc Carlton 

Saturday 9th June, 10.30am – 3pm 

Pentwyn Farm, near Monmouth 

Contact: GWT, 01600 740600 



National Gardens Scheme Open Day 

Host: Annette Murray 

Sunday 10th June, 10am – 4pm 


Contact: GWT, 01600 740600 

Cost: £3, children FREE 

Tea and coffee available 

Meadow Plant Identification for 

Beginners 

Tutor: Rebecca Price 

Thursday 14th June, 10am – 12.30pm 


Contact: GWT, 01600 740600 



Plant Stall at Usk Open Gardens 

Weekend 

Hosts: GWT Chepstow Local Group 

Saturday & Sunday 23rd & 24th June, 

10am – 5pm 

Gardeners’ Market on the field next to the 

Memorial Hall, Usk 

Contact: GWT Chepstow Local Group, 

01291 689326 

Charcoal Making 

Tutor: Jan Kinchington 

Wednesday 27th June, 10am – 4pm 

Croes Robert, near Monmouth 

Contact: GWT, 01600 740600 



Bat and Moth Walk 


Wednesday 27th June, 9pm onwards 


Contact: ERC, 01495 307525 



JULY 2012 

The Changing Scenery of Magor 

Marsh – Summer 

Tutor: Paul Cawley 

Sunday 1st July, 2pm – 4.30pm 


Contact: GWT, 01600 740600 



Goatsuckers Return 


Tuesday 3rd July, 9.15pm onwards 

Beacon Hill Reserve, near Trellech 

Contact: ERC, 01495 307525 



Cleddon Bog 

Leader: Dave Green 

Monday 9th July, 10am – 2pm 

Cleddon Bog, near Trellech 

Contact: GWT, 01600 740600 



Trapping and Identifying Moths 

Tutor: Val Jackson 

Saturday 14th July, 9.30am – 12.30pm 

Tidenham Chase, near Chepstow 

Contact: GWT, 01600 740600 



Magor Marsh Open Day 

Hosts: Kathy Barclay & Helen John 

Saturday 21st July, 1pm – 5pm 


Contact: GWT, 01600 740600 

Cost: £2 adults (£1 for members or those 

walking to the event), £1 children, £5 

families 

Minibeast Adventures 


Wednesday 25th July, 10.30am – 

12.30pm 


Contact: ERC, 01495 307525 

Cost: FREE 


Snowdrops (Amy Lewis) 

Uncommon 

Fungi Found 

NEWS IN BRIEF 

Meet Terana caerulea – also known as the 

Colbalt Crust Fungus. This very distinctive 

(and dare we say, beautiful) fungus was 

found by GWT member and stalwart 

volunteer, Chris Field, in late November on 

a dead stick lying in leaf litter on the ground 

in Croes Robert Wood. 

The species does not seem to have been 

recorded here before and there are only 

six other records across the rest of old 

Monmouthshire. Gwent Fungus Group have 

added the sighting to their database which 

gets copied to the FRDBI (Fungus Record 

Database of Britain and Ireland) managed 

by the British Mycological Society. 

Cobalt Crust fungus covering the dead 

wood (Chris Field) 


NEWS IN BRIEF 

Danger of chinese lanterns 

(Laura Crotch-Harvey) 

Dangers Expose 

the Dark Side of 

Chinese Lanterns 

There is a scene in the Disney animated 

film, Tangled, when tens of thousands of 

Chinese lanterns illuminate the night sky 

all at once. Although it seems tranquil and 

lovely, it’s just as well it’s a cartoon. 

Chinese lanterns are causing such a 

destructive environmental impact on 

UK coasts and countryside that the 

National Farmers’ Union and the Marine 

Conservation Society are calling for them to 

be banned outright. The paper lanterns are 

commonly made with thin wires that cause 

widespread littering, and often harm wildlife 

and farm animals. 

According to one NFU policy manager: 

“Across the UK, there have been numerous 

reports of harm to livestock, and in some 

instances death, when lanterns have landed 

in farmers’ fields, and cattle have ingested 

the metal wires. There is a further risk to 

cattle when grass is cut for winter feed: the 

wire is chopped up and subsequently found 

in hay or silage”. 

Falling lanterns still alight have burned fields 

and buildings. Spain is the most recent 

nation to ban them. The lanterns have 

previously been banned in Vietnam after 

causing numerous forest fires, and in three 

German states, after a lantern was blamed 

for the death of a boy in a house fire. 

A petition has been set up calling for a 

ban on the sale of Chinese lanterns in the 

UK. For more information, go to http:// 

epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/13051. 

As stories about the effects of global 

warming pervade the news, GWT’s 

Conservation Officer, Sorrel Jones takes 

a glance at how last year’s unbalanced 

weather took its toll on Gwent’s countryside 

and what it means for 2012. 

2011 - A very confusing year for 

wildlife 

Looking back at 2011, did you feel that 

spring just merged into a long autumn, and 

summer didn’t really happen at all? Rather 

than our usual distinct seasons, our weather 

got rather muddled, throwing our wildlife into 

a state of confusion in the process. 

Following that severe winter of 2010-2011, 

our birds, insects, and mammals were 

probably pretty grateful for the warm (if 

rather dry) spring. Most animal and plants 

are triggered into their spring activities 

of growing, feeding, and breeding by a 

combination of day length, water availability, 

and temperature. The thresholds vary 

between species and are often influenced 

by ecological factors – woodland flowers 

tend to bloom early, before they are shaded 

out by the trees above them. The delicate 

relationship between plants and pollinators 

can be affected if the weather causes them 

to lose their synchronicity – if our nectarloving 

insects emerge too early, there may 

be very little for them to feed on. 

Sadly, the good fortune was not to last, as 

the summer was a cold one. Birds like blue 

tits and dippers that had confidently started 

second broods suffered and many failed 

entirely. The lack of sunshine meant that 

we didn’t see as many bees and butterflies 

as usual either. The dry spring and summer 

may also have affected habitats – as 

Hibernating dormouse (Danny Green) 

The State of Our Wildlife 

Water vole (Tom Marshall) 

some of the wetlands around the county 

are suffering from low water levels. This 

impacts on the plants and invertebrates 

that are adapted to wet habitats such as 

marshes and bogs. 

The weather became kind again with the 

second warmest autumn in a hundred 

years. A bountiful autumn is beneficial for 

most wildlife, especially those staying with 

us over the winter, as they build up fat 

supplies to see them through the leaner 

months. We even saw butterflies flying into 

November and December. Indeed, a few of 

our birders were disappointed that we saw 

less of our winter visitors, such as redwing 

and waxwing, because the weather wasn’t 

cold enough in Europe to drive them here. 


NEWS IN BRIEF 

Waxwing (Margaret Holland) 

– A Year in Review 

As the long autumn wore on, we began to 

worry about our hibernating wildlife. Our bats, 

dormice, hedgehogs, reptiles, and amphibians 

need cold weather to start hibernating, but 

also for it to stay cold so that they don’t wake 

up too soon. A very mild winter can result in 

disturbed hibernation, which means those 

animals use up their valuable reserves, looking 

for food that isn’t yet there. We will have 

to wait and see how the recent frosts have 

impacted on these early risers. 

The good news 

Despite the jumbled weather, 2011 wasn’t 

completely without successes. GWT’s 

conservation efforts – surveying, management, 

and advice – are bringing about results. 

Dormice were recorded for the first time 

in Strawberry Cottage Wood and Cuhere 

Wood. Water voles are returning to the north 

of the Gwent. Meadow thistle has returned 

to Cleddon Bog SSSI following restoration 

management. And the second site for the rare 

Silurian moth in Wales was also found. 

Gwent 

Ecology 

Comprehensive, professional and 

pragmatic ecological services for 

planning, development and conservation 

The state of things to come 

So what’s in store for 2012? GWT will continue 

to work hard to protect and encourage wildlife 

in Gwent during the Wildlife Trusts movement’s 

centenary year. It’s also a big year for policy, 

with expected consultations on plans and 

policies covering everything from delivery of 

nature conservation and management across 

Wales and Marine Protected Areas, down to 

local development plans at the county level. 

Climate change predictions state that if we 

are not able to limit the global temperature 

rise to two degrees, we will experience much 

more extreme, less predictable weather 

patterns. The weather patterns we’ve seen in 

2011 show how even small changes from the 

norm can have serious impacts on our wildlife. 

Although conservationists can help wildlife by 

creating and managing high quality, connected 

habitats, we can’t stop climate change by 

ourselves. It’s up to everyone to try. 

Thanks to Martin Anthoney, Jan Kinchington, 

Steph Tyler, and Steve Williams. 

Gwent Ecology • Seddon House • Monmouth • NP25 4DY 

T 01600 740600 • F 01600 740299 • info@gwentecology.co.uk 

www.gwentecology.co.uk 

Leucistic dunnock 

(John Harding BTO) 

What Turns 

a Blackbird 

White? 

A recent article from The Telegraph says 

ornithologists are searching for clues to 

a mystery condition that causes birds to 

have unusually coloured plumage. The 

discolouration, called leucism, can turn 

house sparrows pink, red woodpeckers 

yellow, and crows white. 

Some ornithologists believe the condition 

may be caused by changes in diet. 

Populations of house sparrows living by a 

Scottish salmon farm became pink after 

feeding on prawn shells used to give 

salmon more colour. Scientists believe 

the yellow on blue tit breasts comes from 

the volume of caterpillars they eat. If 

there are fewer caterpillars, the colour 

fades. And unlike albinos, whose eyes are 

pink, leucistic birds retain normal coloured 

eyes. 

A survey by the British Trust for 

Ornithology will examine the reasons for 

the colour variations and see how they 

might influence behaviour. For instance, 

robins with white breasts seem to more 

shy then those with red breasts. 

If you see a wild bird with some form 

of plumage abnormality, then please 

report it to the BTO Abnormal Plumage 

Survey – www.surveymonkey.com/s/ 

plumagesurvey. To learn more about 

the Abnormal Plumage Survey, visit the 

British Trust for Ornithology website at 

www.bto.org/gbw. 


NEWS IN BRIEF 

Beacon Hill (Gabi Horup) 

GWT Chepstow 

Local Group 

Needs You! 

After another successful season of 

attending various events and putting on 

plant sales, the Chepstow Group raised 

£1,415 in 2011. The money raised is 

already going to some much needed 

maintenance and improvements at the 

Magor Marsh Reserve. A new bridge has 

been erected, an orchard planted, and 

other useful work is under way. 

The bad news is that their hard-working 

gazebo has sustained an injury and will not 

be able to provide them with shade and 

shelter for this year’s plant sales. If anyone 

has a three metre square pop-up gazebo 

which they no longer need, or even sees 

one at a really good price, please give 

Hilary Lee a ring on 01291 689326. 

They’re also looking for some new trainee 

face painters! Face painting is such a 

popular attraction for open days and is 

a marvellous way of raising funds while 

giving us time to chat to families. If you 

would like to be an artist and make 

children happy at the same time, please 

contact Hilary or the GWT office on 

01600 740600. 

GWT Usk Local 

Group Also Excels 

And not to be outdone, members of the 

GWT Usk Local Group have recently 

raised £1000. The money will be used for 

much needed fencing at Silent Valley and 

bridges at Magor Marsh. 

Nurturing Monmouthshire’s 

Natural Assets 

Rebecca Price – Project Officer 

GWT’s latest project, supporting some 

of our best places for wildlife (what we 

officially call Local Wildlife Sites or LWS), 

has attracted much interest since it began 

last summer. 

The Monmouthshire Natural Assets 

Project, a collaborative effort with 

Monmouthshire County Council, is working 

to restore, maintain and add value to the 

county’s Local Wildlife Sites. The project 

is able to offer wildlife and management 

advice to LWS owners and managers, 

along with grants of up to £2,000 to help 

with capital works projects supporting 

restoration and site enhancement. 

The first grant panel meeting awarded 

a total of almost £8,000 to six Local 

Wildlife Sites, with a further £10,000 

provisionally awarded to a further seven 

sites at the last panel meeting. The grant 

money will contribute significantly to the 

conservation and enhancement of these 

high-value nature sites. A number of the 

projects have been for fencing to enable 

wildflower-rich grassland to be sensitively 

grazed. Wildflower-rich grasslands depend 

on careful management through hay 

cutting and grazing. Without proper care, 

wildflower diversity declines and these 

sites can be lost to encroaching scrub or 

invasive species. 

Hedgelaying works at Stevenstone 

Meadow LWS (Rebecca Price) 

With the help of a seasonal surveyor, 

we’ll also be identifying new Local Wildlife 

Sites. To date, GWT and Monmouthshire 

Meadows Group survey efforts have 

focused on identifying species-rich 

grasslands, but we’ll also be looking to 

assess other habitat types over the next 

two years. 

If you have land which you think may be 

of LWS quality and would like a survey 

or habitat management advice, please 

do contact me at rprice@gwentwildlife. 

org or for more information, go to www. 

gwentwildlife.org/mon_nat_assets.htm. 

The project is one of a suite of 

projects supported under Axis 3 of the 

Monmouthshire Rural Development Plan 

funded by the Welsh Government and 

the European Agricultural Fund for Rural 

Development. We’re also grateful to the 

Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) 

who also provides funding for the project. 

Common blue butterfly (Amy Lewis) 


Coppicing at Magor Marsh 

NEWS IN BRIEF 

Shrill Carder Bee (Gabi Horup) 

School orchard planting (Kerry Schartz) 

School Orchards 

Alice Rees – Gwent Orchards Project Officer 

We all know how wonderful orchards 

are. They are biodiversity hotspots and 

an example of a traditional agricultural 

practice which forms a distinct part of our 

heritage. It is not surprising, then, that the 

importance of orchards is being recognised 

more and more as an irreplaceable learning 

resource for our school children. 

The Gwent Orchards Project was awarded 

funding from the Wye Valley AONB 

Sustainable Development Fund this year to 

plant orchards with primary schools in the 

Monmouthshire part of the AONB (Area 

of Outstanding Natural Beauty). Orchards 

were planted at Trellech and Llandogo 

Primary schools this January, which meant 

Alice Rees, Gwent Orchards Project Officer, 

along with the help of Gabrielle Horup, 

Conservation Officer, and Nicola Stone, 

Assistant Conservation Officer, got their 

hands dirty with some very excitable groups 

of school children! 

Five fruit trees were planted at each school, 

three apples, a pear and a plum. Varieties were 

chosen for their disease resistance and fruit 

production. “It was extremely important to 

choose trees which would fruit during the school 

year”, said Alice, “which meant that we were 

not able to plant heritage varieties. However at 

least we know the trees require minimal care 

and that the children can enjoy watching the 

fruit grow, and eating it afterwards!”. 

The orchards will provide an important 

outdoor classroom for the children to learn 

from in years to come. Wildlife will be 

attracted to the blossom and fruit, helping 

increase the children’s knowledge of the 

natural world around them. Understanding 

where our food comes from can also be 

taught. We hope enough fruit will be available 

eventually, to enable the teachers and 

children to juice it and even sell it at school 

events. Thank you to everyone at Trellech 

and Llandogo for all your enthusiasm and help 

with the orchards! 

Winter bird feeding sites 

GWT worked with five local authorities across Gwent to produce a network of 

winter bird feeding sites last year. If you have a spare corner of land where you 

would like to create a feeding site, then please download our new leaflet from 

www.gwentwildlife.org for some useful hints and tips! 

Shrill Carder 

Bee Project 

takes Flight 

The Gwent Levels are a stronghold for 

the shrill carder bee, a bumblebee on the 

verge of extinction and in need of urgent 

conservation. 

GWT has developed a two-year project 

which will increase awareness of this rare 

bee and its habitat in Gwent. We are 

hoping to expand its range around the 

levels by working with area landowners to 

provide wildflower-rich habitats. 

The project, working in coordination with 

the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, will 

enlist volunteers to monitor the bees and 

their habitats. If you would like to know 

more about the project, or become a 

volunteer, please contact Rebecca Price 

on rprice@gwentwildlife.org or call her on 

01600 740600. 

Shrill Carder Bee 

Project Area 


WAGTales 

Blackcap 

(Steve 

Waterhouse) 

In May 2011, Solutia, one of GWT’s Gold 

corporate members, hosted the second 

Wildlife Wizards Quiz, a quiz designed to 

test youngsters knowledge of nature and 

local wildlife. 

Twelve Gwent schools participated, including 

four from the Newport area. Solutia 

generously provided a buffet lunch for all 

the children, teachers, and parents as well 

as t-shirts and prizes. The quiz was won 

by Glan Usk School from Newport and the 

teams finished the day with a tour of the 

GWT Solutia Meadows SSSI reserve. Solutia 

have once again agreed to host our Wildlife 

Wizards Quiz Final in 2012, so many thanks 

for their continued support. 

Wales Coastal Path 

Solutia have agreed to open up some of 

their land and allow it to be used for a 

public right of way linking with the Wales 

Coastal Path, due to be officially opened on 

Wildlife Wizard Winners (Russ Johnson) 

Gold Star for our Corporate 

Member – Solutia 

6th May 2012. The payment they received 

from Newport City Council for doing this 

was generously donated to GWT. 

Solutia Meadows SSSI Reserve – 

Landfill Communities Fund Grant 

Boost 

GWT has successfully secured a grant of 

over £30,000 for work to be carried out at 

the reserve over the coming years. Two of 

our corporate members, Advanced Elastomer 

Systems and Solutia, have kindly donated 

thousands of pounds to help match fund this 

grant. Without their support, we would not be 

able to take this exciting project forward. 

Solutia Site Manager, Stephen Hampson 

says, “GWT has undertaken some excellent 

work since they took over management 

of the reserve in 2001 and Solutia are 

delighted to support work to further 

enhance this threatened habitat”. 

During the colder season, humans 

aren’t the only ones holidaying in sunny 

Spain. A blackcap, ringed from an 

on-going project at Magor Marsh in 

June 2010 was recaptured 99 days and 

1650km later near Malaga in Spain. 

During that time, even though much 

of it spent migrating, it managed to 

increase its body weight by nearly 20%! 

Little egret 

(Steve Waterhouse) 

The huge flocks 

of jackdaws 

and corvids, 

descending for 

their evening 

roost at Magor 

Marsh continues 

to provide a great 

spectacle soon 

after sunset, but they have also been joined 

by about a dozen egrets roosting on the 

trees at the north end of the pond. Both are 

a great sight, particularly when the colours 

of the sunset are fading from the sky. 

CBP00011260712110205 

Corporate Members 

Platinum 

Caldicot & Wentlooge 

Levels IDB 

Meritor Ltd 

Orb Electrical Steels 

Tata Steel 

Gold 

Advanced Elastomer Systems 

International Rectifier 

Solutia 

Silver 

Robert Davies Partnership 

Bronze 

Ancre Hill Vineyard 

DS Smith TriWall 

Frank Sutton 

Mandarin Stone 

Marshalls 

Facebook, Twitter 

& YouTube 

GWT is most definitely moving with the times 

and our Facebook and Twitter accounts 

are flourishing. We have 907 followers on 

Facebook, 1334 on Twitter and 1549 on 

You Tube. These are easy ways to 

keep up to date with the goings on 

here at GWT. 

Come along to the Facebook page 

and have a go at our famous ‘Guess 

the Critter’. No prizes for the right 

answer other than the warm glow 

that comes with knowing you 

were right!

Wild About Gwent April 2012.pdf - Gwent Wildlife Trust

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?