THE LAST FIVE YEARS
Our first vision document was produced in 1999. In this document called “Biodiversity Matters”, we set out our aspirations for the wildlife of Montgomeryshire. This first Biodiversity Matters was written to be a working document, one that set our goals for the next five years. It contained clear commitments and real actions that the trust itself wanted to achieve.
Since 1999 the Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust has achieved a lot; not enough that we can become complacent, but certainly enough to be proud of. The following list is just a sample of our achievements and gives some idea of the breadth and depth of our actions over the last five years.
Five years of Achievements
New Nature Reserves for wildlife and for people:
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Llandinam Gravels: 42ha of riverine habitats
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Red House: 13ha of wet woodland and grassland
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Severn Farm Pond: Urban Oasis Project - wetland reserve
Prime habitat that we manage for wildlife:
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Heather moorland 220ha
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Flower-rich grassland 22ha
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Pools & lakes 37ha
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Native woodland 44ha
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Rivers & wetlands 52ha
New habitat that we have created:
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Native woodland 6ha
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Flower-rich grassland 7ha
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Bogs & wetland 19ha
Living Highways Project in partnership with Powys County Council:
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Employment of a dedicated Officer working to ensure that Montgomeryshire's road verges are managed appropriately
Education Officer:
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Employment of an Education Officer - bringing the Curriculum to life in schools and on the Nature Reserves
Landholder Liaison:
- Direct advice to landholders about managing their land for wildlife
Severn Natural Assets Project (SNAP)
- Farm liaison and direct conservation projects in the Upper Severn catchment
Pearl-bordered Fritillary (PBF) Project
- Direct action to manage 3 locations for PBF
Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) Project
- Five year capital works, biological survey and monitoring project on 15 Trust reserves
Membership and volunteer support:
- Increased membership by 200
- Established regular work parties for volunteers to help us manage our Nature Reserves
- Increased our volunteer Reserve Wardens to 35
Direct action for species:
- 2 artificial otter holts constructed
- 66 dormouse boxes put up on reserves
- Over 200 bird boxes in place across the county
- 2ha ploughed for Lapwings at Pwll Penarth reserve (2 to 3 pairs annually)
- 3ha of un-cropped winter forage for Tree Sparrow at Dolydd Hafren and Pwll Penarth
- 2ha of bracken cutting management for High Brown Fritillary at its only location in Montgomeryshire
- 4ha of scrub removal/habitat creation for Pearl-bordered Fritillary at Llanymynech Rocks
- 2 new Great-crested Newt ponds created adjacent to 8 known sites
