After days of relentless rain, the day of Gwent Wildlife Trust’s Wilding Walk and Talk dawned clear and bright, the remnants of autumn colour still aflame in the trees and hedgerows.

The event, attended by around 20 people, kicked off with a talk in the ancient stone barn at Pentwyn Farm, where walk and talk leader, Joe Ryder, Gwent Wildlife Trust Conservation Grazing Officer, set the scene.

The 30 acre Pentwyn Farm SSSI (home to one of the largest flower-rich grassland areas remaining in Gwent), was joined in 2008 by the adjacent Wyeswood Common, a 104-acre former dairy farm, affording spectacular views over the Wye Valley.

Joe is a local farmer and successfully marries farming for nature with food production. He maintains rightly that we need both, and that it’s possible for the two elements to exist in harmony. He consults to this effect with other farmers in the region, his own experience as a working farmer lending weight to his arguments.

Wyeswood’s reimagination as a regenerative working farm and wildlife haven involves a number of factors.

• Low level grazing by large herbivores such as English Longhorn cattle, Hebridean sheep, and Exmoor ponies. Grazing levels are well below that of a regular farm and equate to one cow and calf per ten acres, or ten small sheep on the same area of land.
   
• The hedgerows and edgeland have been allowed to flourish to a depth of 4-5 metres, with hedging backed up by bramble, creating an area of scrub that provides a haven for birds and mammals.  Most farm hedgerows are only 1.5 metres wide and are too skimpy for many species to feel secure.
   
• Seed has been harvested from Pentwyn Farm to regenerate Wyeswood’s grassland, fallen trees are left to provide habitat, ponds have been created and vehicle ruts left to provide an impromptu mini wetland, all of which provide an intricate mosaic of habitats on this working farm.
   
• Large herbivores ‘poach’ the ground which helps with seed dispersal, enhances soil health, and creates bare patches of ground ideal for wildflower seeds to germinate.

Joe says,

“Edge habitat is a vital component in nature recovery. The edgelands at Wyeswood are some of the most diverse parts of the reserve. In these dense scrubby patches, birds and mammals can thrive. Because of the low grazing levels, we don’t need to give our animals feed concentrates, and we keep the area chemical free. Apart from their job poaching the ground to help biodiversity, chemical-free herbivore poo is worth its weight in gold for invertebrates.  As many as 200 beetles can live in a single cow pat.”

The bottom of the reserve is only 400 metres away from the river Wye – even in its depleted state, a hugely important wildlife corridor. The rest of the reserve is high on the hillside, enjoying spectacular views, but can be very dry, and one of the challenges of the site is creating wet areas for the benefit of wildlife.

Joe isn’t alone in managing the reserve’s herbivores. Volunteer shepherd, Pauline Gaywood, spends much of her free time tending the animals too.

“It’s a fantastic experience, being out here, whatever the weather, and in all seasons. It is such an inspiring and beautiful place,” she says.

During the walk, Joe pointed out a number of fascinating features, such as the fantastically named dog vomit slime mould, also known as scrambled egg fungus. Many of us had never seen one before.

He also delved into the all-important cow pats.  Apparently, about 20 kg of dung is produced per day by a single cow, providing excellent homes for species such as the dung beetle.

A true dung beetle lives its entire life inside the manure heap of its choice.  Joe’s delving produced one of these fabulous creatures, shiny and resplendent.

Joe also pointed out the stalks of summer flowers, left so that over-wintering insects, such as the parasitic wasp, can shelter in their hollows.

"The invertebrates that survive will go on to help next year’s swifts, swallows and house martins, among others. Helping our invertebrates thrive is vitally important for nature recovery. Our thistles, those much-maligned plants, are also vital for invertebrates and we have seen as increase in long-winged coneheads (crickets) and nursery web spiders (who use their silk purely to provide a refuge for their young).  What many people think of as mess is in fact important habitat, and we need so much more of it to help nature’s recovery.”