Category: Wenvoe Wildlife Group

Wildlife Group Activities

Our newest recruit is a Peregrine Falcon – plastic of course but don’t tell the crows! Benches and similar structures that we install in our sites can prove popular, not only with people, but also crows, rooks and starlings with all the associated deposits that come with them. Our Peregrine is intended to deter them. We shall see – but as crows are pretty intelligent it is possible that they will realise that although the Peregrine is the fastest bird, even fastest animal, on the planet, believed to achieve speeds of 200 mph when diving, ours is somewhat static, achieving just the odd wobble in high winds.

We had another good conservation day working on the Upper Orchid Field and re-opened a number of the paths which had become overgrown with brambles and Blackthorn. The challenge now is to keep the paths open so if you have occasion to walk there, consider taking a pair of secateurs and snipping away at the odd bit of undergrowth. Hopefully, the contractor will have been able to cut the field by the time you read this but access has proved a bit of a problem with the takeover of Cemex.

Waitrose have again come up with a donation to Wildlife Group funds, for which we are most grateful. Even before Covid, applying for grants was becoming harder as funding bodies increasingly favoured larger organisations and those living in deprived areas. For example the much-publicised Local Places for Nature capital grant starts at £10,000 and the Biffa landfill tax refund at £5,000. The Small Grants scheme is ‘currently closed to applicants’. Community Packages for Nature offered by the Welsh Government must be ‘located in areas of high physical environment deprivation with limited access to nature’.

We are doing particularly well for apples this year as our trees start to mature with the Welsh Orchard producing an abundance. An apple-tasting session found that Cissy came out top closely followed by Afal Wern. Equal third were Machen, St Cecilia and Pig Aderyn. Cissy dates back to the 18th century. It was raised by a Mr Tamplin from the Malpas area who called the apple after his sister. The Elizabethan Orchard has produced its first Walnuts and Figs. Work on the Bee Lod Glade is progressing with the planting of Escallonia, Eucryphia, Euonymous, Gipsywort, Evening Primrose and Purple Loosestrife. Planting containers have been constructed out of recycled timber. A 100+ tree hedgerow from the Woodland Trust is due for delivery during November.

Wildlife Group

September Improvements

Continuing with our theme of noticeboards we have erected another donated one, this time from the Community Council for which many thanks. The old noticeboard had been in storage but has been refurbished and installed at the Bee Loud Glade. We now have a total of 8 larger noticeboards, one small one and two information notices scattered throughout the parish. Plantings have included two Amelanchiers and a donated Bay at the Bee Loud Glade and during October we shall be adding Escallonia, Eucryphia and Euonymous – all particularly good for pollinators. Three Mahonias will follow towards the end of the month. Fruit, mainly apples but also a good crop of Medlars, are coming along nicely in the orchards. There is a lot of current interest in Quince (Cydonia) and whilst we have planted 4 they do take time to mature. Our oldest one (about 5 years) in the Community Orchard produced little fruit this year but seems healthy. This could be down to a lack of pollinators which is increasingly becoming a world-wide problem. Interestingly our most productive orchard is the one which has beehives.

Regular visitors to the Upper Orchid Field may have noticed that the meadow is shrinking! Just consider that the benches were all originally on the edge of the grass but several of them are now a few metres back as the brambles advance into the field. Ian Moody organised a start on the fight back with a mix of Environment Group and Wildlife Group members and several of the benches are now accessible again. We hope that the annual cut of the field will also involve further removal of bramble. If visitors to the field could take a pair of secateurs and snip the odd bramble, every little helps. We were also delighted to receive an offer of two teak benches in response to our appeal in the last What’s On and these will be installed down in the Bee Loud Glade.

Noticeboard Recycled

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A noticeboard is now up in the Goldsland Orchard. It may look vaguely familiar to some as it was the old Village Hall noticeboard. Our thanks to the Village Hall Committee for passing it on when they replaced it. It will be repainted our standard Sage colour and will then have notices on it which will describe the background to and history of cider apple and perry pear orchards. Many of these are wonderful old varieties such as Gwehelog and Blakeney Red (perry pear), Gabalva and Twyn y Sheriff (Cider or dual purpose) along with a mix of other fruit including Medlar, Quince, Plum and Damson. The group have been planting daffodils donated by Dyffryn Gardens, treating timber structures with preservative, strimming, brush-cutting, weeding and pruning.

A leaflet describing the orchards and their locations will be appearing on the Wenvoe Village website ( http://wenvoe.org.uk/?p=8128 )  and copies of the leaflet will be available around the village shortly. We have received donations of old gardening tools, a small pond and some damson suckers. We can always use spare tree stakes and if you have a surplus bench do get in touch as we are always being asked to provide more seating by visitors to our sites. For up to date information about the group and any events we organise, check our Facebook page – Wenvoe Wildlife Group

Orchard Noticeboards Refurbished

Despite lockdown a number of Wildlife Group members have been working on our sites either as individuals or couples.

The main focus has been on the noticeboards of which we have 6 large ones, one small and two more due to be erected soon. After a trial we have opted to repaint them Sage-coloured which blends in more with the countryside and is distinctive to the parish. The Welsh and Elizabethan Orchards have been completed and the notices re-affixed. The Community Orchard has been repainted and notices are back up. We shall move on to the Wild Orchard next. These play an important role in communicating what we are doing and why with visitors, many of whom are from outside the village.

Other work involves clearing vegetation and strimming paths, trimming willow, planting in our raised beds and cleaning the benches and other furniture which is as popular with wildlife as humans but with the inevitable consequence in terms of ‘bird poo’. A new bench has been installed at the top of the Upper Orchid Field in memory of the Kennetts who lived in Barry but were supportive of the Wildlife Group.

We continue to receive regular photos from residents either notifying us of plants and animals spotted or asking for help in identifying them. These are added to the wildlife recording database for South East Wales (SEWBREC) which ensures the records are properly logged and retained. Species recently include Dwarf Spurge (plant), Shaggy Ink Cap (fungus) and Pied Hoverfly. These and many more can be seen on our Facebook pages.

When working in the orchards, we often meet people who say that they were not previously aware of them. So each month we shall refer to one of them.

The Community Orchard is closest to the centre of Wenvoe and on the Playing Fields. To get there take the footbridge over the by-pass and continue down Station Road. After 100 metres turn right into the Playing Fields and the orchard is at the very far end hidden behind a hedgerow. You can also take the tunnel from Vennwood Close and follow the path.

Enjoy The Outdoors And Stay Safe

It has been great to see so many people out visiting the orchards and other wildlife sites. Please remember that the sites have largely been created by and are managed by the Wildlife Group in the village. All members are volunteers and we receive no official funding. All sites are there only because the landowners, whether the Vale of Glamorgan Council or local farmers, have supported the projects and allowed the space to be used. If anyone, whether adults on their own or families, would like to help, do get in touch.

Of course, access to the countryside brings with it the responsibility to look after it and whilst many will be aware of the Highway Code, how many of you know the Countryside Code? Here it is as a reminder, this version taken from the Welsh Government website.
Respect other people. Consider the local community and other people enjoying the outdoors. Leave gates and property as you find them and follow paths unless wider access is available.
Protect the natural environment. Leave no trace of your visit and take your litter home. Keep dogs under effective control.
Enjoy the outdoors and stay safe. Plan ahead and be prepared. Follow advice and local signs.
You will find more detail in leaflets and on websites. These thoughts are often summed up as:
Take only photographs – leave only footprints.

The Noticeboard and Bee Hotel has been re-erected

Visitors to the Community Orchard on the Playing Fields will have been delighted to see that the Noticeboard and Bee Hotel has been re-erected after it collapsed some weeks ago as the main posts had rotted. Our thanks to Mike Tucker for managing this – we had assumed a small army would have been needed to get it upright. Mike used branches from the nearby oak which has also come down to provide additional support. Our other noticeboards are being stripped of their notices in preparation for treating the timbers with preservative and the Welsh Orchard structure is already a subtle shade of sable. Many group members have been taking the opportunity when on their once a day exercise excursion to spend a few minutes carrying out maintenance work on our nature reserves. Fruit tree supports are being removed where they are no longer needed, beds weeded, willow screens and tunnels trimmed, and trees mulched.

A combination of good weather and the lock-down has encouraged many more people to get out and about in our local countryside and to enjoy visiting our orchards and nature reserves. Unfortunately a small minority of landowners have taken the opportunity to try to keep out members of the public who are using legitimate rights of way. Notices have been put up on our noticeboard in the Upper Orchid Field asking people not to use stiles or gates to protect farm workers. We stress that these notices were not put up by the Wildlife Group and we can see no reason why people should not continue to exercise themselves and their dogs whilst observing social distancing and sensible hygiene precautions. Dogs, of course, should always be kept under control particularly when near fields with sheep and lambs.

Woodland Trust is donating over 100 saplings

We were pleased to hear that the Woodland Trust is donating over 100 saplings for our new hedgerow at The Bee Loud Glade. These will be delivered in the Autumn. A number of people have expressed an interest in the best plants for pollinating insects and we hope to have a handout prepared in the next couple of months on which ones to consider. So far we have planted the Bee Bee Tree (Tetradium daniellii), Buddleia, Gipsywort, Lavender and Purple Loosestrife. Salvias will be going in during March. We were not successful in getting RHS funding for this project but will be carrying on regardless.

The pond at the Farm Orchard is in and very quickly became full of water. It has several aquatic plants placed in it including Iris and Marsh Marigold (aka Kingcups). Wildlife cameras left in the orchard recorded the usual suspects; rabbit, squirrel, pheasant, fox and song birds but also field mice and voles. A Conference pear has been planted along with numerous wild primroses.

The Great British Spring Clean has been postponed until 11th September but we will continue to pick up litter on our sites in the meantime. Hopefully we will see more village-wide litter-picking activities as there is no shortage of waste material to be found once you start looking

We had a bit of a shock when we found our noticeboard and bee hotel at the Community Orchard flat on the ground. This happened before storms Ciara and Dennis and it is clear that the very damp conditions on this site have rotted the posts. The structure itself is still more or less intact and our plan is to re-erect it and position the remaining posts in Metposts. The big challenge will be lifting it up as it weighs a lot.

Fallen Notice Board

When weather permits we have continued to plant the new hedgerow at Goldsland Farm and our thanks to residents who have donated saplings. The small pond has been installed and one benefit of the rain has been the speed at which the pond has filled up. We have another small pond to install at the Bee Loud Glade and then a large replacement pond at the Welsh Orchard. We shall by then have installed 5 ponds as well as keeping an eye on the Holland Pond and Watercress Beds.

We have been monitoring which plants appear to be good for pollinators so that they can be planted at the Bee Loud Glade. During January Mahonia was frequently visited by bees – mainly Queen Bumblebees which are on the wing during warmer sunnier spells. In February Hellebores tended to be the most popular as pollen and nectar sources, particularly the large, white-flowered varieties not just for bees but some of the larger hoverflies.

We are always on the look-out for help whether volunteering time or surplus benches, tools or stakes.