BWLCH COROG BLOG
Here’s the place to keep up to date with the latest news from Bwlch Corog.
Project Officer
We’d like to introduce the newest member of our team – meet Lora, our Project Officer.
Lora grew up in Tywyn and has always enjoyed exploring the outdoors. Having nurtured a passion for conservation, Lora decided to study biological sciences at university and has also developed a wealth of experience in the field of nature and conservation by pursuing varied volunteering opportunities. These have included workaway farm assistance (Spain), ocean plastic removal for In The Same Boat (Norway), fieldwork assistant red squirrel conservation (Bunloit and Cawdor), species conservation and mitigating human-wildlife conflict for the Naankuse Foundation (Namibia.)
Lora’s two most recent roles took her to Scotland, firstly as residential conservation skills volunteer at RSPB Forsinard Flows where her role involved leading volunteer groups in various reserve tasks such as peat depth surveys, litter picking and tending to the native tree plantation. During her latest placement as assistant ranger with the Scottish Wildlife Trust on Handa Island, Lora enjoyed participating in a variety of tasks. Her responsibilities included leading on the monitoring of the brown rats, carrying out many practical tasks on the reserve such as repairing boardwalk, managing the drinking water system and greeting visitors to the island with a welcome talk.
We’re pleased that Lora has made the move back to Wales as we’re sure her knowledge, experiences and enthusiasm will be an asset to our team.
Update
This entry is more of a ‘blog within a blog!’ It’s been such a busy time at Bwlch Corog that we thought we’d put together a little update on everything that’s been going on. We hope you enjoy reading about all the exciting work we’ve been doing and about our numerous plans for the future.
Peatland Progress
Project Director, Katy and Habitats and Species Manager, Neil ventured to the furthest areas of our ‘big bog’ to do some informal monitoring of our peatland restoration work.
In 2023, with funding from Natural Resources Wales’ National Peatland Action Programme, we were able to experiment with techniques for reducing the Molinia cover on our areas of deep peat. Following consultation with an ecologist and with the help of a specialist contractor, we scraped the purple moor grass from some areas, using the contours of the land to create small dams before planting sphagnum moss plugs. As is the nature of experimentation, not all areas have been 100% successful but on their latest visit, Katie and Neil were pleased to see great success in the areas of deepest peat – the sphagnum moss is thriving and the small ‘ponds’ are alive with lizards, frogs and dragonflies. We’ll continue with the work this year, adapting our techniques based on last year’s discoveries.
A very special new arrival
During the summer months, Bwlch Corog provides grazing for some of our trustee, Joe Hope’s cattle. This year, the herd will include a rather unusual calf as the latest addition to Joe’s farm has a very distinctive look! In Celtic folklore it is believed that white animals with red ears come from the Otherworld. As we sit at the heart of the land of the Mabinogion, perhaps we have been given a gift from Annwn! So, if you’re wandering Bwlch Corog during the next few months, be sure to keep an eye out for this rare creature. Find out more here.
Nature Ambassadors
Another great project has got off to a flying start at Bwlch Corog. Thanks to funding from the WCVA, we’ve been able to invite young people from the local area to join our latest programme and become ‘Nature Ambassadors.’
During this year, four different groups will be invited to visit us for one day a week, over the course of six weeks. Each session will include a variety of activities tailored towards learning new skills, connecting with nature and gaining experience of volunteering. As well as developing practical skills, we aim to see participants ending this programme with increased self-confidence and self-esteem. We hope that taking part will be a fulfilling experience that gives our young people a sense of being part of a community, working together on the important task of improving bio-diversity and mitigating against climate change.
Recent research by the NPC for their Everyone’s Environment programme of work clearly shows that young people care deeply about the environment and its protection, but can find the narrative around this subject overwhelming and struggle to find opportunities to be pro-active. At Cambrian Wildwood, we’re pleased that our ‘Nature Ambassadors’ will help our local young people work towards a bright future for themselves and the environment.
We’re fairly sure that our first group of enthusiastic pupils from Ysgol Penglais had a great day to start their journey with us!
Spotted!
While out and about at Bwlch Corog, our Habitats and Species Manager spotted this beautiful Drinker Moth – though not one of our rarer moths, it’s good to add another species to the list for Bwlch Corog! It’s thought that this moth is named because the caterpillar is believed to drink drops of dew on grass stems. They favour damp and marshy places so the upland areas of our site provide a perfect habitat for them.
Neil joins the team
We’re pleased to announce that our new Habitats and Species Manager has started in his role. Neil has a wealth of experience in the field and is eager to begin work on our many exciting projects including peatland restoration and developing landscape partnerships. As you can see from the picture, he has been vetted by some of the most important members of the team and we think that they approve of our new colleague! Welcome, Neil!