Wildlife on Your Patch

Through the last couple of field seasons community groups have been investigating wildlife on their patch with the help of local naturalist experts.   The project has been designed to encourage anyone with an interest in wildlife to develop and improve their knowledge and skills.   Local wildlife specialists have helped community members to discover the common, interesting or rare plants and animals living on their patch.  During the visits participants also discover what nature conservation work is taking place to help safeguard what they see.    Simple reports have been written for each site we’ve visited which are available to download here.   These are being used to enthuse other members of the local community about their special places.

   Fabulous flora in Sardis Churchyard  © WOYP

Through the project we’ve visited various habitats including churchyards, woodland, grasslands, rivers, dunes, and heathland, on some visits we’ve also studied the geology of the sites with the help of Sid Howells.  Some of these included visiting designated Sites of Special Scientific Interest but others were chosen for their community interest.  A key aspect of this project has been to stress the importance of small wildlife patches in maintaining and establishing the connectivity of habitats across the landscape which in turn helps to maintain the richness and diversity of our wildlife at both the local and national level.

   Ron Elliott explains about moth trapping at Freshwater East  © WOYP

The project has been designed in partnership between Pembrokeshire Biodiversity Partnership, PLANED (Pembrokeshire Local Action Network for Enterprise & Development) and CCW.   We are planning to continue this project for the future field season so if you are an interested individual or group with enthusiasm for wildlife and conservation wishing to find out more about this project contact Jetske (01834862101 or jetskeg@planed.org.uk).