Three projects to help enhance our natural landscape and tackle climate change
Corwen
An historic Corwen monument is supporting work to help future generations of local nature and communities.
Denbighshire County Council’s Climate Change and Clwydian Range & Dee Valley National Landscape teams are working to provide a new area of support for nature and visitors to enjoy underneath the watchful eye of the Caer Drewyn Iron Age Hillfort monument.
Over 1,500 trees have been planted on the lower slopes below the hillfort to help create new diverse species-rich habitats to support local nature.
A 190-metre hedgerow has been created with the help of Ysgol Caer Drewyn pupils, containing over 1,000 whip trees including Hawthorn, Blackthorn, Hazel, Holly, Dog Rose, Guilder Rose, Wild Pear and Crab Apple.
The hedgerow also includes 19 standard size trees including Sessile Oak, Pedunculate Oak, Silver Birch, Downy Birch and Rowan.
Next to the hedgerow 2.4 hectares of land has been planted with 389 trees. This new site will include Rowan, Silver Birch, Downy Birch, Hawthorn, Dog Rose, Hazel, Blackthorn, Holly, Crab Apple, Sessile Oak, Elder, Aspen and Alder Buckthorn.
The trees were planted at six to seven metre intervals to create a woodland habitat area more favourable to local nature.
This development is part of the Council’s work to tackle the Climate Change and Ecological Emergency declared in 2019 and its drive to become a Net Carbon Zero and more Ecologically Positive local authority by 2030.
Habitat loss and fragmentation are major threats to biodiversity, and climate change exacerbates this by limiting species’ ability to access more favourable habitats.
For Caer Drewyn, woodland and hedgerow creation has been designed to improve connectivity between existing surrounding habitat as wildlife corridors.
Other development on the site includes the improvement of moorland areas and the development of a wetland habitat area. Footpaths at the site are being improved, alongside new fencing and access gates.
The woodland creation project has received funding from an £800,000 grant awarded to Denbighshire County Council from the UK Government and is being undertaken alongside other projects at Caer Drewyn, including a landscape enhancement initiative, funded by National Grid, and measures in the wider area to conserve curlews.
The Clwydian Range and Dee Valley National Landscape ranger team will continue to manage the site in the long term as part of its role to ensure that the environment of the area of outstanding natural beauty is improved and protected and that the land is made more accessible.
Prestatyn
Sheep are shepherding support to boost wildflowers and wildlife on a Denbighshire hillside.
The Clwydian Range and Dee Valley National Landscape has introduced a flock of sheep to Prestatyn Hillside to help maintain the variety of wildflowers and wildlife that gives the site its special character.
The hillside is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) for its nationally important limestone grasslands.
Using grazing animals reduces the need to mechanically manage sites using heavy plant and machinery and brings the land into a more sustainable management regime.
Fencing and water were installed in January 2022 with all material carried on site by hand due to the limited vehicle access. Kissing gates were also put in to ensure walker access was not limited along Offa’s Dyke Path.
The sheep are on site to support the high number of wildflowers and wildlife on the site. They achieve this by removing the dense rank vegetation and opening up the sward in the autumn/winter which will allow smaller flowering plants to flourish come the summer, providing a haven for butterflies and other wildlife.
The animals ae put out for short periods of time between October and March and members of the public are asked to keep their dogs on leads when walking through the areas that the sheep are grazing.
During February, sheep will be grazing an area on the Hillside that has not been fenced so a shepherd will be utilised to keep the area in favourable condition.
Llanarmon yn Iâl
A new wetland area is taking shape on heights of the Clwydian Range to help support local nature
World Wetlands Day takes place this Sunday (February 2) to continue supporting the regeneration of these important areas to help encourage more wildlife to return and prosper.
An additional wetland creation is now under way at the Moel y Plas nature reserve site, near Llanarmon yn Iâl.
The Clwydian Range & Dee Valley National Landscape team, in conjunction with Denbighshire County Council, are developing an area at the hillside for both the benefit of local nature and communities.
Nearly 18,000 native broadleaved trees have been planted on the site to create diverse species rich habitats, hedgerows have been planted to improve connectivity across the site and also working with farming projects have allowed the beginning of restoration of the upland habitats such as Moorland and Friddoedd with the reintroduction of grazing animals .
Accessibility for visitors coming through the area has also been improved with new fencing, way markers and kissing gates added to make paths accessible and easy to follow.
The newly developed wetland area at Moel y Plas will help provide shelter and food for a number of animals and encourage a wide variety of plants to take root. This type of area will also store carbon which helps alleviate the impact of Climate Change and can act as a natural flood barrier absorbing water during heavy downpours.
A wide range of wildlife may use this type of habitat that is underway at Moel y Plas including Water Voles, Water Shrews, Common Frogs, Mallards, Herons, Egrets and even Kingfishers.
Insects including Pond Skaters and Water Beetles can also be found in this habitat alongside Damselflies. Wetlands can also encourage wildflowers to flourish, such as the Pyramidal Orchid.
For the Moel y Plas development , woodland and hedgerow creation has been designed to improve connectivity between existing surrounding habitat as wildlife corridors.
The woodland creation project has received funding out of an £800,000 grant awarded to Denbighshire County Council from the UK Government.
The Clwydian Range and Dee Valley National Landscape ranger team will continue to manage the site in the long term as part of its role to make sure the environment of the area of outstanding natural beauty is improved and protected and that the land is made more accessible.