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Monmouthshire Natural Assets Project
Monmouthshire County Council has secured funding to
set up the Natural Assets project. This has a small grants scheme
attached and will help identify and support the care of some of the best
places for wildlife in Monmouthshire – named our ‘Local Wildlife
Sites’.
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What are Local Wildlife Sites? |
We are lucky in Monmouthshire to have some
fantastic wildlife-rich habitats; from wildflower-rich meadows
to ancient woodlands, teaming with a variety of flora and fauna.
Local Wildlife Sites are a way of recognising some of these best
places for wildlife.
Local Wildlife Sites are areas considered to
be of particular wildlife value locally because of the variety
of species they support. They are a voluntary system to
encourage and support landowners to learn about the special
wildlife on their land and how to care for it, and are a reason
to be proud.
Monmouthshire already has over 300 Local
Wildlife Sites but there are more to be discovered! |
St Michael’s Glascoed Churchyard Local Wildlife Site.
Photo: Rebecca Price |
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What is the Natural Assets Project? |
The Natural Assets Project will be delivered by Gwent
Wildlife Trust and aims to help local community groups and landowners to
preserve and enhance these special Local Wildlife Sites. Staff will be
on hand to assist with wildlife surveys and management advice plus help
applicants with the associated grant scheme. This could include money
for fencing to help a neglected site be grazed, or restoring a dry-stone
wall or hedgerow around a Local Wildlife Site.
Project Aim:
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To support the preservation and enhancement of
some of Monmouthshire’s best places for wildlife – known as Local
Wildlife Sites.
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To support this through the provision of small
capital grants to landowners and local community groups to maintain
and enhance these high value Natural Assets.
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What’s on offer?
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Wildlife survey of your site - to
determine whether it’s of Local Wildlife Site quality
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Wildlife and management advice
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Grants scheme (Max. £2,000 per
project) – Capital Grants (max. £2,000 per project), to
help support the enhancement and restoration of Local
Wildlife Sites in Monmouthshire. For example fencing to
enable wildflower-rich grassland to be grazed, restoring
traditional field boundaries (hedge-laying, restoring
dry-stone walls), meadow restoration works.
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Local Wildlife Site landowner days,
training events, newsletter to help you learn more about
the wildlife your land supports, and share experiences with
other Local Wildlife Site owners.
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Hedge laying training.
Photo: Rebecca Price |
For further information on the Project and Grant
Scheme – contact: Rebecca Price, Natural Assets Project Officer,
Gwent Wildlife Trust, Seddon House, Dingestow, Monmouth, NP25 4DY.
Email:
rprice@gwentwildlife.org
The project will run from summer 2011 until December
2013 and is one of a series of projects supported under Axis 3 of the
Monmouthshire Rural Development Plan.
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