Volunteers planting trees at Bwlch Corog – work that will be supported by the new funding
Coetir Anian have secured a major new grant from the Nature Networks Fund (NNF) – a real boost which helps us continue our work. This grant will fund our project Natur a Ni: Nature Connections in the Bwlch Corog Uplands, which will run for two years from March 2025, and is one of 11 projects to benefit from this most recent round of the NNF, designed to protect, preserve and promote natural heritage in Wales.
Much of the work this grant will fund is building on work we are already doing – work that was largely funded by a previous grant from NNF. This includes restoration of the upland bog and heath at Bwlch Corog, planting and maintaining trees in suitable areas of the site while managing our existing area of Celtic rainforest – improving habitat connectivity and biodiversity, increasing carbon capture and improving water and soil quality across our site and beyond. We’ll enhance access to Bwlch Corog by improving footpaths across the land, and we’ll continue to work with volunteers – involving them in the project and helping to build connection between the local community and the land. As well as this, we’re able to continue to run our youth programmes and youth camps – a very important part of what we do. These programmes bring local young people, and disadvantaged groups from further afield, to Bwlch Corog to benefit from spending time in nature. Many of the attendees of these programmes derive huge benefit from their time with us.
All this work is dependent on grant funding – as is much of the work of many small charities like us. Each grant has a time limit, and this new NNF grant comes at a time when much of our previous funding draws to an end. This new grant means we can continue to do this work – great news for Coetir Anian, and for the land and the people we work with.
Alongside supporting us to continue the above aspects of our work, this grant will also allow us to develop a new partnership with neighbouring landowners. Bwlch Corog, the 142 hectares of land we care for, is surrounded by a mosaic of different land uses. We share boundaries with sheep farmers, cattle farmers and privately- and publicly-owned forestry plantations. A stone’s throw away is an RSPB nature reserve. Some of this land is protected under Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) status, some benefits from schemes designed to help landowners make their land more nature-friendly, some is managed organically, and some is not. These different types of land use and designation provide varied opportunities for nature, but also pose their own challenges in terms of management – management in order to provide livelihoods, and management to enhance habitats for nature. By working together, Coetir Anian and some of our neighbours are able to share knowledge, skills and experience, and benefit from schemes which support partnership work. We hope this will help each of the partners financially at a time when things are uncertain for farmers in particular, and improve habitats and connectivity between land holdings while doing so.
Applying for grants like this is a big, arduous undertaking, and a successful bid takes a huge amount of work – so we’re really pleased to be able to bring you this news. Now we shift our focus, and work on the ground begins. A lot of hard graft lies ahead – our small team is committed to making the most of this funding, continuing and expanding our work, and to do it effectively and efficiently.
This project is funded by the Nature Networks Programme. It is being delivered by the Heritage Fund, on behalf of the Welsh Government. You can read the official press release here.
