Caermalwas Fach Farm

Caermalwas Fach Farm is a 78-acre site recently acquired in Carmarthenshire which is made up of a mosaic of habitats including broadleaf woodland, species-rich wet pasture, grazed pasture and a reseeded area. The Trust, with the help of a newly appointed farmer, aims to build a model for sustainable farming through the production of high welfare meat and nutrient dense food whilst also engaging with the local community about the wider benefits of increasing biodiversity. The site is known for its special plants, whorled caraway and formerly for devil’s-bit scabious, which it is hoped can be reintroduced and will also provide more habitats for marsh fritillary butterflies. The lower pastures are home to species such as marsh marigold and ragged robin.

Seabirds Fighting Against the Odds

Globally, seabirds are under threat and puffins are at risk of extinction in the UK, yet our Skomer and Skokholm Island Puffins continue to buck the national trend. On our Skomer Island nature reserve 38, 896 individual puffins were counted in spring 2022, 4,083 more than 2021 and a post-war record. The Wildlife Trust is working with Oxford and Gloucestershire universities carrying out research to find out why the puffin population is increasing. The Trust increased its seabird surveillance in 2022 as the devastating impacts of Avian Influenza become evident across the UK and Europe. Although positive cases were recorded on other seabird colonies in Wales, our island remained clear of this terrible disease. Both Skomer and Skokholm are internationally important for their seabird populations and are home to the largest breeding colony of Manx shearwater in the world, one of the largest colonies of nesting lesser black-backed gulls in Britain and the second largest grey seal pupping site in Wales. The island turns into a carpet of blue during May with an incredible bluebell explosion. August and September are great months to watch seals and their pups.

Pencnwc Mawr Wood - rare Welsh temperate woodland, scarcer than tropical rainforest

Pencnwc Mawr Wood is a rare surviving remnant of the Welsh temperate rainforest. Its lush broadleaved trees are home to breeding hazel dormice, barbastelle bats, both classed as vulnerable to extinction, and butterflies in woodland glades. The temperate rainforest once stretched along the western uplands and into deep Welsh river valleys. The Wildlife Trust bought the 13 hectares Pencnwc Woodland which is a wildlife link to the neighbouring Pengelli Forest National Nature Reserve, has increased the size of the whole reserve by a fifth, to create 78 hectares (193 acres) woodland which will be more resilient, and secure the future for a wide range of wildlife from polecats to bank voles. Extending Pengelli is the beginning of the Trust’s vision to encourage local people, farmers and other landowners to gently transform their landscape into a more natural, and sustainable environment. The Wildlife Trust for South and West Wales now needs fund to integrate and manage the two woodlands please donate here.

Get in contact with our Media Officer, Freya, with any enquiries. f.johns@welshwildlife.org