Category: Wenvoe Wildlife Group

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Wenvoe Wildlife Group

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Project Balder has involved encouraging Mistletoe to grow on trees in the Village. Currently there are only two clumps of the plant recorded as being alive in the County – one in Dinas Powys and one in Wenvoe. There are several clumps in Cardiff and many more to the north-east and east of the City. Last year we invited residents to contact the Group if they wished to try propagating it and during February berries and instructions were distributed. This involved over 100 berries with an accompanying kit purchased from the English Mistletoe Shop. Mistletoe is notoriously difficult to grow and if we get just a couple of new growths, particularly if one is female it will have been worthwhile. With at least one male and one female we would hope that nature can take over. Our thanks to Chris, Vicar Lyndon, Annette, Shirley and Eleanor who have placed seeds on trees in the Rectory, various Wenvoe gardens, one in Dinas Powys and the Elizabethan Orchard. There are several species of insect, beetle and fungi which are associated with Mistletoe. And Balder was the God of Light in Norse mythology who was associated with Mistletoe although not in a way that he would have appreciated!

Visitors to the Upper Orchid Field will have appreciated the annual cut and clearance of vegetation carried out by John Crockford. We can look forward to a grand display of Spring flowers, particularly Primrose and Cowslip. Rhys has been deploying wildlife cameras around our sites and early footage is revealing the hidden world of wildlife including Field Mice, Birds and Foxes. One particular fox, Stumpy, has no tail but seems healthy enough.

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Wenvoe Wildlife Group

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Despite the weather we have achieved quite a lot in January. Three new picnic tables have been constructed and installed in the orchards by Brian Rees. Sian White has strimmed and cleared vegetation at both the Goldsland Orchard and Goldsland Watercress beds, enabling improved access to both of these popular but quiet sites. Rhys McGowan has started a project of wildlife recording and all residents are encouraged to send any sightings of wildlife to the Wildlife Group from within the Parish. The Group have purchased a replacement Cherry Plum for the one in the village that was uprooted recently and Mike Tucker has arranged its planting. Mike has also cut the hedgerow that the Group planted along the Community Orchard.

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Wenvoe Wildlife Group

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Mike and Glenys’s Reindeer sale along with some separate donations raised £1360 for the Wildlife Group – an incredible sum and our thanks to all who supported the event, bought raffle tickets and reindeer or gave donations. Thanks also to the Church who generously donated the hire of the Church Hall and tea and coffee sales. Huge thanks to Mike and Glenys for organising and running the event. We have received no other funding so every penny is spent directly on wildlife-related projects. Noticeboard refurbishment in the orchards and provision of picnic tables is already committed to the tune of £1200. Thanks also to Mike for donating two reindeer to the School which have been modified with holes drilled in the sides so that they double as Bee Hotels.

The Goldsland Orchard has been cleared of nettles and brambles by Sian so is looking quite tidy. Work is starting on the Watercress Beds followed by the Wild Orchard. We have submitted our 7 Green Flag applications so can now concentrate on getting the sites up to standard. A big thank you to Ian, Annie and Judy for turning out for November’s Conservation Session on the Upper Orchid Field. This is a regular event, usually the third Monday in the month – check What’s On for details. If you can spare a few minutes at any of the Orchards at a time and date to suit you, do get in touch.

The school children have also been busy in the Wildlife Patch constructing two more planters and filling them with 20 bags of soil. Shrubs planted include Mahonia, Caryopteris, Salvia and Escallonia. We have just heard that Rhys has been successful in obtaining funding from the Vale Nature Partnership team. In the new year, we will be beginning a species monitoring project across the Parish helping us better understand the animal species in the village to support our conservation efforts. This will involve the use of wildlife cameras and footprint tunnels at the Upper Orchid field, Elizabethan Orchard and Community Orchard. However, we would also welcome your help. We would like to encourage village residents to record what wildlife they see in t gardens, or when out and about in the village and countryside, letting us know what, where, when and who saw it and even better if you manage to capture a photo. Watch this space for more details on how to report your records.

 

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Wenvoe Wildlife Group

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The School Nature Club continues to flourish. This month they learned to identify Horse Chestnut which gives us Conkers and distinguish them from Sweet Chestnut which we love to roast. They assembled two more planters and will be filling them with Bee-friendly shrubs such as Escallonia, Mahonia, Caryopteris and Salvia in the Spring as well as sowing seed of Limnanthes, the Poached Egg plant. Vegetation cutting is expected any time on the Upper Orchid Field, Community Orchard and Cae Ysbyty but is weather-dependent. Ian Moody and other volunteers turn up once a month to help with manual maintenance on the Upper Orchid Field – why not wander up and join them? Third Monday in the month or check this newsletter for date and time. Do you have a mature apple tree and want to try getting Mistletoe to grow on it? If so, contact the Willdlife Group.

 

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Wenvoe Wildlife Group

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The weather has not been kind to our conservation work but thanks to some of our observant residents we continue to record species which have not previously been registered in the Parish. An example is the Mint Moth which is probably not uncommon but easily overlooked. This small day-flying moth tends to inhabit patches of mint so one to look out for. We have now recorded 40 wildlife species in the School wildlife patch but expect the numbers to increase steadily, particularly if we get some better weather. The grass, Timothy, shown in the photo is doing very well – this is the foodplant of the caterpillar of the Essex Skipper (recorded in Cardiff and Barry) and the Marbled White butterflies.

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Wenvoe Wildlife Group

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We continue to work on our sites but (and we are not alone as far as village groups are concerned!) we do need more residents to get involved and spare a few minutes helping out with simple jobs. We held a session at the Elizabethan Orchard during July encouraging new volunteers to spare an hour in the evening but no new helpers turned out. Meantime we do what we can and recently have started refurbishing our noticeboards. Elizabethan Orchard noticeboard has been completed – next we shall focus on the Wild Orchard board. At least we have been awarded with 7 Green Flags again which is a tribute to those who help to care for the sites and the landowners who make it all possible. An important function of the Wildlife Group is to record species that are seen within the Parish of Wenvoe and St Lythans. Many of our records are firsts for this area such as the Common Purple and Gold Moth shown here which was spotted by members at the Elizabethan Orchard. They do not have to be rare and many common species are under-recorded. It is unlikely that anyone else is recording wildlife in the Parish and an apparent absence of wildlife can have a bearing on planning applications, especially for large-scale development. You do not have to be an expert but a photograph can usually help with identification. Do get in touch if you would like to get involved.

 

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VILLAGE ENVIRONMENT TEAM

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What an outing on our first meeting of the year!

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Before we got going a concerned citizen reported that suspicious activity was afoot at the church. We voted for Ian to go and investigate, as he was nearest. All ok though as the gentleman was investigating a problem with the roof. Neighbourhood Watch proved its worth.

The team then found a series of small holes on the village green. We thought at first folk had been metal detecting but as it turned out Brenig Davies and Gareth Sing Song had been settling their differences after the Christmas carol service and lost an earring in the melee. To make amends for his behaviour, Gareth collected litter all along Old Port Road.

We did plant three gifted trees, a couple of roses and some bulbs before departing. It was heart-warming to see a daffodil out on a lovely morning.

Our next meeting will be on 13th February at 9.30am by the Community Centre.

 

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Wenvoe Wildlife Group

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Three members of the Group attended the hedge laying course organised by the Vale Local Partnership team and found it very valuable. It was originally scheduled to take place in our Community Orchard but this was flooded so the venue was switched to Cosmeston. It is still planned to layer the hedge by our Community Orchard but this will depend on the floodwater receding.

 

 

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Wenvoe Wildlife Group

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Our thanks, as always, to the Tuckers who raised £1,155 for the Wildlife Group from the Reindeer sale. Thanks also to those of you who donated raffle prizes or bought tickets, manned or purchased items from stalls, or who helped out in other ways. One of our first purchases will be a new bench for the Community Orchard which has been missed by many of you when the first one disintegrated. Also taking place between the 11th and 15th January is a hedgelaying course at the Community Orchard. The instructor will be doing preparation work for the first three days and the course then runs on the 14th and 15th. At least three members of the Group have registered for the course which will not only pass on this ancient skill but should tidy up what has become a quite unruly hedge.

 

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