Natur Cymru

Issue 24

Read inside...

Tree Lungwort Lichens - the Long Goodbye?

Ray Woods reports on the gloomy outlook for a charismatic group of
lichens ion mid Wales, and the chink of light which positive action could provide.

Summary

Shooting and conservation – the Green Shoots experience

The cause of conservation is open to anyone who can help, and one group of people in a good position to help are shooters. Harnessing their enthusiasm to help achieve biodiversity goals is the task of a project called Green Shoots. It is leading to better knowledge of our wildlife and practical conservation action, as ALEX HATTON explains.

Freshwater pearl mussels

In the first edition of Natur Cymru, Graham Oliver raised the spectre that the freshwater pearl mussel might be in terminal decline. Did we have the time to wait for important rivers to recover, and in the meantime should we consider culture methods and the artificial maintenance of stocks, he asked. HUW JONES reports on a successful captive rearing project, but explains that the real challenge remains bringing important mussel rivers back to health.

The Cambrian Mountains – Wales’ wild, neglected quarter?

This remote and beautiful area now has an organisation to champion it: the Cambrian Mountains Society argues that the environment and landscape must be at the heart of efforts to build a strengthened economy and social structure. Here DAVID BATEMAN and ROGER BRAY describe the exceptional qualities of the Cambrian Mountains, consider current concerns and look to the future.

Moths Count!

A recent report catalogued declines in moths. A new campaign aims to find out what is happening to them, and to enlist public help on a big scale, as RICHARD FOX and ZOË RANDAL report.

Dinefwr Park – reserved for the nation

There are few places in Wales where the marriage of cultural, historical and environmental values has been so fulfilled as at Dinefwr Park and Castle by Llandeilo in Carmarthenshire. Balancing so many interests can be difficult, but simple solutions often satisfy everyone. HELEN BUCKINGHAM, EMMA PLUNKETT-DILLON and BRIAN HANCOCK report.

The nightingales of the Land of Song

The nightingale is a bird associated with low lands and a continental climate. Would Wales then ever have been able to offer a suitable habitat for this wonderful bird? DUNCAN BROWN asks the question and sifts through the evidence.

This article is written in Welsh. A translation is available on request.

Tufted saxifrage in Cwm Idwal – survivor of our glaciated past

Botanists collecting specimens may have pushed one critically endangered plant to the edge. Three decades ago, rather than see this iconic saxifrage of the high arctic disappear from Wales, a bold experiment was conducted to reinforce the tiny population. Subsequent monitoring has yielded a wealth of information, and a measure of encouragement, as DAVID PARKER explains.