For projects you can get involved with, see the links on our local and national surveys page.
The 7th Glamorgan Recorders’ Forum meeting will take place at the Best Western Heronston Hotel, Ewenny, Bridgend on Saturday 31st January 2009. The 9th Gwent Recorders’ Forum meeting will take place at the University of Wales College Newport, Caerleon Campus on Saturday 7th February 2009. Provisional programmes are available to download below.
Glamorgan Recorders' Forum Provisional Programme
Gwent Recorders' Forum Provisional Programme
The meetings are free, open to all interested parties and include a complimentary lunch! Please contact SEWBReC if you would like to attend.
On Tuesday 25th November, Carmel’s Ancient Woodland Treasures went head to head with another community project as part of the Big Lottery Fund and ITV Wales People’s Millions.
This Grasslands Trust project successfully received the most telephone votes, and will now be awarded a grant of £44,210 for essential conservation work. They plan to use the money to restore this beautiful ancient woodland, improve access for all, train local people in countryside management skills and bring back important wildlife.
For more information, visit The Grasslands Trust website and The Big Lottery Fund's People's Millions website.
The first edition of the Gwent-Glamorgan Recorders' Newsletter is now available.
A big thank you to all those who have contributed to this newsletter!
But, thinking ahead to the next issue, we want more articles from Recorders – it could be just a list of species you have recently recorded, or an update of where you have been surveying in the last year. This is an opportunity to plug your favourite recording location, to raise awareness of the species that you record, and to communicate to a wide range of individuals about your hard work!
Please forward any comments, articles, events, species sightings, etc. to SEWBReC.
Congratulations to Peter Davies and all at Slade Farm for their recent achievement in becoming the first winner of the Nature of Farming Award. The Southerndown farm was 1 of 4 short-listed finalists, and ultimately gained 36% of the vote in the competition, run by RSPB and Countryfile Magazine and backed by Butterfly Conservation and Plantlife. The site was the venue for the 2008 Glamorgan Biodiversity Blitz, organised by SEWBReC. Further details on the competition and the winning farm can be found on the RSPB website.
The BBC are currently in the casting process for a new natural history series, 'To The Ends Of The Earth'. They are looking for 9 people with a deep and longstanding passion for the natural world and for wildlife of all shapes, sizes and description. The 9 people eventually selected will be given the opportunity to spend 10 weeks in some of the most remote corners of the world as they face a number of training challenges with a view to winning a years contract with the BBC Natural History Unit. Previous knowledge of filming processes is not important:
“We can show people how to operate a camera and teach the complexities of setting up and completing foreign shooting trips, but what we can't impart is a thorough desire to learn about the natural world and help others to.”
The application process is limited to those 18 or over, due to the rigorous demands of the project, but otherwise the BBC are very open to the widest spectrum of applicants.
Download the flyer for more information and details on how to apply. The deadline for applications is 26 November 2008.
The bizarre Ghost Slug was first found in a Cardiff garden in 2007. It is blind, lives underground, and kills and eats earthworms by squeezing down their burrows. Ghost slugs are originally from Turkey and Georgia and have not been seen in Europe before, but they may be spreading. The Ghost Slug Project would like to hear from anyone who has seen them.
For more information see the National Museum Wales website or contact Ben Rowson (02920 573 110).
Download the Ghost Slug Identification Guide
Following the success of the first Biodiversity Blitz Day in 2007, two events were organised by SEWBReC this year. The Gwent Blitz was held on 2nd August at Aberbargoed Grasslands, a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and Special Area of Conservation (SAC). The Glamorgan Blitz was on 16th August at a Tir Gofal Farm in Southerndown called Slade Farm.
There was a great turnout for both events, with local recorders of a wide variety of taxonomic groups attending. As a result of the efforts of those present, a large number of new species were recorded at the previously under-recorded Aberbargoed site and a diverse assortment of species were found at Slade Farm, despite the rain! Huge thanks to all involved!
A full list of species from both days will be available once all records have been submitted. If you attended either event, please don't forget to send us your records!
Please visit our Biodiversity Blitz Days pages or contact us for further information on these events.
This July SEWBReC attended the Royal Welsh Show. All the Welsh LRCs were represented at a joint stall in the Countryside Care Area in the Wales Environmental Compact marquee, near the Main Ring.
2008's Go Wild! event, organised by the Blaenau Gwent Biodiversity Partnership as part of Wales Biodiversity Week, was held at Parc Bryn Bach LNR (Tredegar) on Saturday 14th June.
SEWBReC held a competition for youngsters to name a selection of plants and animals from photos on a map. Two winners have been drawn from a hat and will be sent wildlife identification books.
Other activities on offer, hosted by a variety of conservation groups and other organisations included meeting wild owls, otters, minibeasts, newts, frogs & toads, building homes for bats and birds, and a biodiversity "boot camp"!
In 2009 Go Wild! is due to be held by Caerphilly County Borough Council at Pontllanfraith.
The National Dragonfly Atlas Project will be launched in April 2008. The aim of this project is to update the known distribution of British dragonfly and damselfly species over the next five years, culminating in the publication of a new national atlas in 2013.
The breeding season fieldwork started on 1st April. There are two ways you can help:
See the BTO Atlas website for more details.
SEWBReC reached the million records mark on 8th January 2008. The species in question was a bryophyte recorded by Sam Bosanquet: Sanionia uncinata (Sickle-leaved Hook-moss). It was spotted on waste ground in Abersychan.
Sam notes that "Sanionia uncinata is usually found in species-rich limestone grassland, on montane crags, or in willow carr, so its presence on an area of disturbed roadside turf was remarkable. There are a reasonable number of records of it from north-west Gwent, but all from natural habitats."
Dan Forman is in need of carcasses of weasel, stoat, mink and polecat for his research.
Please keep an eye out for those mustelids, especially when traveling on the road: any donations will be gratefully received!
Dr Dan Forman CBiol.MIBiol.EurProBiol.Behavioural, Physiological & Molecular Ecology GroupInstitute of Environmental SustainabilitySwansea UniversitySingleton ParkSwansea, SA2 8PPTel: (+44) 01792 295445
In the event of finding an otter carcass, please telephone 0800 807060 (Environment Agency) or 0845 1306229 (Countryside Council for Wales) with details of the location.
Otter carcasses will be forwarded to the Cardiff University Otter Project.
Click on the links below to download PDF versions of this newsletter which has been produced by SEWBReC since 2005.
Gwent-Glamorgan Recorders' Newsletter Issue 1 [October 2008]
Gwent Recorders' Newsletter No. 11 [October 2007]Gwent Recorders' Newsletter No. 10 [October 2006]Gwent Recorders' Newsletter No. 09 [November 2005]
Click on the link below to download a PDF version of SEWBReC's previous newsletter:
SEWBReC Update [June 2005]