North Wales Wildlife Trust showcases successes in wildlife restoration

Biodiversity was on the agenda when an MP visited a wildlife trust to hear more about their work.

Mark Tami, MP for Alyn and Deeside, visited North Wales Wildlife Trust at its Aberduna nature reserve and offices at Maeshafn outside Mold.

The trust has 35 nature reserves, 10,000 members, 800 volunteers and 75 employees across North Wales. As well as fostering natural habitats on its own sites – which include Minera Quarry, Gwaith Powdwr, and Marford Quarry – it works with individuals and businesses across the region to advise and support them with various projects.

One such project is working with businesses on Wrexham Industrial Estate to encourage them to manage the land around their buildings to make a more attractive space for wildlife and for employees. This has resulted in an increase in an increase in wildlife, such as bees, orchids, otters, barn owls, great crested newts and grizzled skipper butterflies.

North Wales Wildlife Trust also leads the management of the HMP Berwyn mitigation site for Wrexham County Borough Council and works to combat invasive species across North Wales. It has recently acquired a new farm, Bryn Ifan, near Clynnog Fawr, between Caernarfon and the Llyn Peninsula, where they aim to demonstrate wildlife-friendly farming as well as re-create temperate rainforest on its upland areas, to improve water and soil quality and bring back the site’s wildlife.

As well as its conservation projects, the charity provides consultancy and land management services through Enfys Ecology, gives planning advice and has shops on both the Great Orme and in Breakwater Park, Holyhead.

Mr Tami toured the Aberduna site where he saw how native species thrived in space which had been carefully managed to benefit wildlife and visited the tree nursery where they have recently started growing young trees of local provenance for woodland and hedgerow restoration projects.  Customers include Natural Resources Wales, National Trust and the Trunk Road Agency.

Among the issues discussed were getting the right balance between the homebuilding agenda and protecting biodiversity, community-run biodigesters, food policy and aiming to make compost peat-free.

Mark Tami said: “North Wales Wildlife Trust has grown immensely since its beginnings in 1963 and is a very impressive organization doing some important work. I’ll be keeping in touch with the team here and helping wherever I can to support its conservation aims.”

“We were delighted to host Mark and make the link between the global problems facing nature and society and how we are tackling these issues locally.  We talked about our ambition that the planning system should address the housing, nature and climate crises together, creating nature-rich communities. Through supporting nature-friendly farming, we can both help secure our long-term food security and support wildlife,” said Frances Cattanach, North Wales Wildlife Trust Chief Executive Officer.