Issue 14

Tracking turtles to Welsh waters

The crucial moment in a turtle’s life, tradition has it, is when a female comes ashore to lay her eggs, only to find the beach has been taken over by holiday-makers. But life on the ocean is full of danger for the greatest sea turtle of all, the leatherback. Research has uncovered an extraordinary story of long distance travel in pursuit of flotillas of jellyfish, which puts Wales firmly on the map of desirable locations for a leatherback turtle, as JONATHAN HOUGHTON explains.

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Gardening with birds in mind

Wildlife gardening is a term which has become ever more popular in the last 30 years, but how useful is it for bird conservation? BECKY GROVES reviews the success of wildlife gardening for birds in Wales, and suggests ways in which everybody with a garden can contribute.

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Heather and hillforts

The hills of Denbighshire are the focus of an exciting development which aims to protect and improve the condition of the heathland and the historical sites that create the unique character of these areas. HELEN MROWIEC, project officer for ‘Y Grug a’r Caerau’ explains the background to the work and the aims for the future.

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

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Rivers of life - river restoration in the upper Severn and upper Vyrnwy catchments

A great river like the Severn starts out as a myriad of small streams and feeder rivers, which can be vulnerable to problems connected with land management such as acidity, siltation or pollution. Tackling these issues, which may have many and complex causes, calls for cooperative solutions, as MAGS COUSINS describes.

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A story of river flies

What could be better than sitting beside a beautiful, fast-flowing river on a still, warm summer’s day, watching trout rise to a swarm of insects of a species which is almost unchanged since before the age of the dinosaurs? There is a lot to learn about the fascinating lives of those living fossils, the river flies. MICHAEL HAMMETT fills in the details.

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The Carneddau – landscape of past and present

The bare chains of the Carneddau mountains have been a stronghold for the area’s inhabitants since prehistoric days, and later for Princes who are still remembered in the peaks’ names, Dafydd and Llywelyn. The appearance of this landscape has developed over thousands of years as a consequence of man’s use of the land. JONATHAN NEALE reflects on the changes to the land that continue to influence the Carneddau.

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

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Farming to keep carbon: a necessary response to climate change?

Wales has large stocks of natural carbon, and the way we manage these can have a bigger impact on climate change than our emissions from burning fossil fuels. A 1% loss of carbon stocks each year would increase our net emissions of carbon dioxide by 40%. Far from woodlands being the main repositories of carbon, most of the stocks are in grasslands and the uplands. Stocks can be maintained or increased by limiting grazing, restricting drainage and no tillage, as JOHN FARRAR, CHRIS FREEMAN, DAVEY JONES explain.

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Reeds meet needs - how, with a little help, reedbeds can benefit people and nature

In the 20th century human and nature’s needs generally conflicted. But it wasn’t always so, and this century a different trend could become apparent: VICKY MOLLER begins a series of reports on emerging green businesses in Wales with a look at two businesses which protect and create reed beds to meet some very basic needs.

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