Countryside Services Volunteer Newsletter
Little Terns
2024 marks the 20th year that Denbighshire Countryside Services has managed the Gronant little tern colony. The site is the largest breeding colony found in Wales and is extremely significant internationally as it contributes to over 10 percent of the entire UK breeding population. Setting up the colony takes great effort as we operate a no trace policy meaning that all the fencing and infrastructure set up in April is removed at the end of the season. Throughout the season there are many volunteer opportunities and please get in touch should you wish to get involved.
Contact Jim Kilpatrick, Senior Ranger for more information at jim.kilpatrick@denbighshire.gov.uk.
Upcycling for biodiversity in Bodelwyddan
In March volunteers dug some mini ponds at Bodelwyddan. By repurposing discarded tractor tyres, they created strong structures to hold water, providing an important resource to enhance biodiversity.
The ponds should soon be home to invertebrates, amphibians and plant life that were previously sparse on the site. Please note, Bodelwyddan is currently a closed site with no public access.
Climate Change Project Update
As the tree planting season draws to a close, we would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has volunteered their time to help us with this project. We could not have planted the thousands of trees we have without help from our dedicated team of volunteers, local organisations, and hard-working school children. Thank you.
Moving forward, we will be spending the next few weeks finishing any left-over planting and odd jobs on the new sites. Look out for sessions with Matt if you want to be involved.
Bruton Great Crested Newt Ponds
A new pond has been created at Bruton park community woodland. The pond was funded through the Nature For health project, work included excavation, bentonite clay lining and fencing for protection from dogs.
Volunteers have then been and planted native marginal reeds, rushes and flowers that help the newts in the important task of egg laying. These habitats are also very important to the invertebrate population as well as a range of amphibians.
Coastal Update
Volunteers have been transplanting marram grass at Rhyl Harbour. This involves taking small amounts of marram grass from established patches and transferring them to bare patches, which will improve the marram grass coverage and stabilise the dune system over time. Volunteers also carried out chestnut paling repairs at Rhyl Harbour, on an area used for nesting by ringed plover. Little terns have previously been seen scouting out this area for potential nesting suitability!
Furthermore, volunteers carried out a beach clean at Splash Point, and have been helping with scrub clearance at BarkbyDunes.