Week 1: 8th - 11th October

Monday

Today we had our induction into the work of Gwent Wildlife Trust and the ERC.  We covered topics such as health and safety and our job role and responsibilities, and were introduced to other members of staff.  Our introduction concluded with a small tour around the ERC building and its grounds.

Environmental Resource Centre

Tuesday

This was our first exploration/introduction day of Silent Valley Nature Reserve. We spent the day walking all trails of the reserve, making a note of wildlife sightings and any maintenance requiring attention.

Wildlife Sightings

Robin • Blackbird • Wren • Great Tit • Nuthatch • Jay • Raven • Buzzard

Nant Merddog stream, a tributary of the River Ebbw.

Wednesday

We spent the morning in Silent Valley doing minor repairs to the board walk at the reserve entrance.  The chicken wire, in place to prevent people slipping, had worked its way loose and required re-pinning to the wood in various places. 

In the afternoon we visited a local primary school to undertake a nestbox building activity. We helped a class build two boxes for specifically for house sparrows, which would then be put up in a local allotment. During this activity the children were told about the life cycle and behaviour of the species and shown pictures to help them with future identification.

Thursday

Today we spent the day helping with storing log piles at Croes-Robert Wood; a small 15 hectare reserve in the Wye Valley, south of Dingestow.  The reserve is managed through coppicing to provide a suitable habitat for Britain’s most threatened mammal – the dormouse.  The ancient semi-natural woodland also provides a good habitat for plant species such as bluebells and the common spotted orchid, and for animal species such as the fritillary butterfly, fallow deer, woodpeckers, and other woodland birds.

Coppicing & Charcoal Production:

Coppicing in Croes-Robert Wood began in 1994/5.  Trees are cut down and then re-grown from the base, providing a self renewing source of wood.  During the autumn and winter the coppiced wood is stored in log piles and covered until the spring.  During the spring and summer, the coppiced wood is burned in kilns on site to produce charcoal which is sold locally by the Wildlife Trust.  This is a good example of sustainable conservation.

…If you want to find out more: http://www.gwentwildlife.org/reserves/charcoalProduction.htm

Charcoal kiln site at Croes-Robert Wood