Pembrokeshire’s rare horseshoe bats, and frogs needing a hand to get out of gully drains will benefit from hundreds of thousands of pounds of Welsh Government funding.
Two local projects will receive a total of £381,817 of conservation funding, it has been announced today, Thursday, January 12.
The funding is part of the £3.78 million allocated by the Welsh Government in conservation funding.
The money has been awarded to projects that will improve the condition and resilience of Wales’ network of protected land and marine sites and support communities near these sites get closer to nature.
In Pembrokeshire Dr Beynon’s Bug Farm will receive £211,624 to run its ‘Connected Commons & The Centre for Nature Recovery’ project.
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Pembrokeshire Coast National Park has also been given £170,193 for its Stitch in Time scheme.
The bug farm’s project aims to plug the gaps in the fragmented habitat corridor across the St Davids Peninsula in order to strengthen the resilience of its network of protected land.
Connecting habitats such as roosting and nesting sites will help species such as the rare greater horseshoe bat and aid nature's recovery. The project will also work with Pembrokeshire County Council to trial the use of amphibian ladders in road gulley drains.
The development of The Bug Farm Nature Recovery Centre will actively encourage community engagement with the project.
The Stitch in Time scheme removes and controls the spread of non-native invasive species. It will target the Himalayan balsam and Japanese knotweed in rivers in the national park.
Six areas will be targeted – Castlemartin Corse SSSI; the Milford Haven Waterway SSSI; the Aberarth Carreg Wylan SSSI; the Preseli SAC and Cleddau Rivers SAC; the Preseli SAC and north Pembrokeshire Woodlands SAC; the north west Pembrokeshire Commons SAC and St. Davids SAC.
A project coordinator will be employed to lead and coordinate volunteers, community groups, contractors, staff and landowners.
The Nature Networks Fund is being delivered by The National Lottery Heritage Fund in Wales on behalf of the Welsh Government and in partnership with Natural Resources Wales.
Climate Change Minister Julie James said: “This funding will help to facilitate the team Wales approach required to improve the condition and resilience of our protected sites network as well as creating networks of people actively engaged with nature.”
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