A WILD Year ~ Together, We Made a Difference in 2024!

A WILD Year ~ Together, We Made a Difference in 2024!

Ben Porter

It's been another fantastic year for WTSWW, from inspiring communities to restoring nature. We've been reflecting on some of the amazing achievements and highlights from a WILD 2024!

Bohemian Beauties at the Teifi Marshes! 

Our Welsh Wildlife Centre and WTSWW team were delighted to welcome some very special visitors to the Teifi Marshes Nature Reserve in January! In the heart of winter, when nature often seems to slumber, a burst of vibrancy graced our Wildlife Trust Teifi Marshes Nature Reserve in Cilgerran. Four beautiful Bohemian Waxwings arrived on the 9th January creating a spectacle that delighted both seasoned birdwatchers and casual nature enthusiasts alike. To read the full article click here...

Will the Waxwings return to the reserve in 2025, we hope so! Keep an eye on our socials for updates. 

A waxwing sat on a branch.

Waxwing at Teifi Marshes - Grace Hunt

Dolphin Diet Detectives

The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales (WTSWW) was delighted to receive funding support from the Welsh Government’s Nature Networks Fund Round 3 (NNF) for the Dolphin Diet Detectives Project: Unveiling Dolphin Diets and Engaging Communities for UK Conservation.
The £249,306 grant awarded will support research opportunities enhancing WTSWW’s important bottlenose dolphin marine conservation research in Cardigan Bay until March 2026. To read the full article click here...

Bottlenose Dolphin swimming. Collecting Dolphin faecal samples.

Bottlenose Dolphin poo. Credit Dr Sarah Perry / WTSWW

Skomer Remains a Stronghold for Puffin Populations! 

Skomer Island welcomed back over 41,000 puffins as the annual seabird count revealed how their population is faring. WTSWW's Skomer Island is an internationally important seabird island. Every spring, thousands of Puffins and other seabirds return to the island to raise their chicks. To read full article click here...

Puffins gathering on Skomer Island

Pia Reufsteck

30 Days WILD!

30 Days Wild 2024 was bigger, WILDER and better than ever! The month long challenge encouraged us all to spend more time in nature and to carry out one WILD act per day. To continue your WILD journey 365 days of the year click here...

30 Days Wild

 Evie and Tom photography

Championing Inclusivity: Shared Prosperity Funding Boost for the Wildlife Trusts’ Welsh Wildlife Centre!

The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales’ (WTSWW) ‘Welcoming and Accessible Wildlife Centre for All’ project received £301,092 from the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF). This funding was allocated towards urgent improvements at WTSWW’s Welsh Wildlife Centre in Pembrokeshire, designed to enhance visitor experiences and foster accessibility. To read the full article click here...

Waymarker at Teifi Marshes Nature Reserve

Green Flag Award for Parc Slip for 4th Year!

WTSWW were delighted to fly the flag once more at Parc Slip in recognition of its environmental efforts, excellent visitor facilities, and community involvement at the reserve. Parc Slip is home to a variety of different habitat types such as grassland, woodland and wetlands, all of which is restored from its previous status as an opencast coal mine. It supports many different species, including great crested newts and bee orchids and is a safe area for families to discover and enjoy nature. To read the full article click here...

Parc Slip Green Flag Award 2024

WTSWW's Parc Slip Green Flag

Rainforest Restoration at Trellwyn Fach 

WTSWW was delighted to reveal plans to improve habitats and recreate temperate rainforest at Trellwyn Fach near the Pembrokeshire coast. Rainforests used to cover much of the west coast of Britain, though were destroyed over hundreds of years and only fragments remain. Rainforest restoration forms part of a wider programme of nature-based projects funded by Aviva to remove carbon from the atmosphere and help wildlife recover. Communities in Pembrokeshire will be closely involved in the project, with ambitions to provide volunteering, educational and employment opportunities, as well as improved access to nature.

The project at Trellwyn Fach is part The Wildlife Trusts’ Atlantic rainforest recovery programme, made possible through thanks to share of £38 million donation from Aviva. To read full article click here... 

Ben Porter

Ben Porter

Water Voles Return to the Thaw for the First Time in 20 Years

WTSWW in partnership with other conservation organisations in South Wales  have brought back the UK’s fastest declining mammal back to the River Thaw. The Water voles arrived on the release site on in August, where they spent a few days acclimatising to their new environment in temporary pens, before being released. The hope is that these voles will go onto breed successfully and repopulate the River Thaw catchment. To read full article click here...

Water vole

Water vole © Terry Whittaker/2020VISION

Dowrog Common Nature Reserve Peatland Restoration

A £5m national peatland restoration project is about to undertake an important piece of work on Dowrog Common in Pembrokeshire – one of the seven LIFEquake sites. Peatland is the most valuable land resource in Wales as it stores 30% of land-based carbon. Covering about 4% of Wales, it is estimated that 90% of Welsh peatland is in a deteriorating condition and emitting greenhouse gasses that contribute to climate change. To read the full article click here...

Dowrog Common Nature Reserve

Nathan Walton

Two Years of Nextdoor Nature in Swansea!

In 2024 our Nextdoor Nature project came to an end and we couldn't be prouder to celebrate the amazing communities we have worked with and the action they have taken to protect local wildlife. Nextdoor Nature set out to support communities in Swansea to take action for nature on their doorstep from urban to more rural areas. It followed a Community Organising approach putting communities at the heart of decisions. Click here for the full article...

Marianne with a group of people in a garden.

WTSWW Award for Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion.

The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales (WTSWW) received the prestigious Dame Mary Smieton Award for their Accessible Boat Trips, designed to connect disabled people with Skomer and Skokholm's wildlife. To read full article click here...

Lisa Morgan, Head of Islands and Marine Conservation, holding the Dame Mary Smeiton Award which reads 'Skomer and Skokholm Accessible Boat Trips' and features the Wildlife Trust logo.