From the Usk to Wye Reserves

April meant the arrival of lambs at Pentwyn Farm and Wyeswood Common. So far we have welcomed 20 Hebridean and Hill Radnor lambs, with the first set of twins being born on the 28th of April. In preparation for their arrival our volunteers worked very efficiently to build new tree guards for the fruit trees in Pentwyn’s Orchard, having this space means we can monitor any lambs that need a helping hand.

Gwent Wildlife Trust has a small flock of sheep which are vital for the management of traditional hay meadows, including Pentwyn Farm SSSI. We keep traditional, native breeds that are ideal for conservation grazing. Hebridean sheep for example, are perfect for grazing scrub encroachment from meadows.

Our volunteer shepherds have been working round the clock to monitor our sheep and new lamb arrivals, we’d like to thank our Head Shepherd Pauline in particular for her dedication! If you would like to see the lambs they are currently at Pentwyn Farm Orchard and Wyeswood Common.

Down on the Gwent Levels

The Gwent Levellers team have been hard at work maintaining, repairing and replacing the infrastructure at Magor Marsh, allowing for public to easily access this wetland reserve.

We have deconstructed and rebuilt a new bridge from scratch for us to access one of the remote reedbeds on site, ready for habitat management works later in the year. Visitors to the marsh will have also seen us making a start on installing gritted sheeting onto the recycled plastic boardwalk, adding extra grip and protection to the walkway, which we will be busy with for the next few weeks. Looking ahead we will be gearing up to manage the path side vegetation, further path restoration works, ditch bank vegetation, with the summers grassland management right around the corner.

Over in the Eastern Valleys

Volunteers have been busy at Silent Valley maintaining the reserve by removing defunct fencing, cleaning signage and collecting 15 bags of litter from the stream. The natural flood management in the Nant Merddog stream has had a tidy up after a winter deluge with the leaky dams being repositioned. Other reserve upkeep has included clearing windblown trees from footpaths at Priory Wood and Strawberry Cottage Wood, ensuring our reserves stay accessible to visitors.

Off our reserves

The participants with the Wild Health Project got a head start on celebrating the upcoming National Wildflower Week this month by exploring all that spring has to offer across Gwent.

The bluebells at Goytre Hall Woods were enjoyed by the enthusiastic Building Bridges group, who focused intently on ticking off their spring scavenger hunt sheets while learning new facts about more familiar species like the dandelion and meadow buttercup. A few even tasted some newly sprouted beech leaves!  Also curious about sampling edible plants, staff and participants with Sense Cymru tried the peppery Lady’s Smock during their wildflower walk, successfully identifying over 24 different species of wildflowers and completing their nature colour bingo task at Taf Bargoed Community Park.

Over on the other side of Gwent, at Tintern Abbey, the ever-curious Mind Monmouth and Mind Chepstow joined forces to spot the local wildlife and enjoyed a social cuppa under the shade of the trees while sharing their best wild garlic recipes.

Top species sighted

Spring is a great time to spot reptiles as they bask in the warm spring sun. After spending the winter hibernating in the stable temperatures below group, our reptile species are emerging, seeking sunny spots to absorb the suns rays. Magor Marsh is excellent habitat for the Grass snake, with our first one of the season being spotted this month!