Wildlife Trust announces new project to tackle invasive species

Invasive species including grey squirrels, rhododendron, and American mink all have something in common…they’re not supposed to be here – and a new project might make some of their strongholds a thing of the past.

The Wildlife Trust of South & West Wales (WTSWW) has received £926,905 from the Welsh Government’s Nature Network Fund for an exciting, new project tackling one of the biggest threats to wildlife in Wales.

Introduced by humans, invasive plants and animals are putting our native species at risk. Grey squirrels have pushed our native reds to the brink of extinction.

Predation by American Mink has caused Water Voles to disappear from many waterways in Wales. Plants like Rhododendron are swamping native plants out of our woodlands and grasslands.

But WTSWW is working to change this with their major new project tacking invasive species across the region.

Sarah Kessell, CEO of WTSWW said: “We’re delighted to announce our ‘Protecting tomorrow by managing invasive species today’ project has received funding from the Welsh Government’s Nature Networks Fund.

“Invasive species are one of the main drivers of biodiversity loss globally, and their impacts in Wales are well recognised, both on land and at sea.

“Our ambitious project will work to manage invasives to secure the future of some of our most precious habitats and species in South and West Wales.” says.

As part of this project, the Trust will work to safeguard 41 important places for nature, home to some of the rarest species in the UK including Water Voles, Manx Shearwaters and Marsh Fritillary.

WTSWW will work to reduce the impacts of invasive species, including 14 invasive plants, already present on these reserves. With better biosecurity and monitoring, the network of protected land will be more resilient in the face of future threats.

“This funding will allow us to do new work that we could never achieve on our own,” continued Kessell.

This includes working with specialist abseiling contractors to control invasive plants on exposed limestone rockfaces. The Trust will be able to buy specialist equipment to help control invasives in locations that were too challenging to reach before.

Working with communities will be an important part of this project, empowering local people to help manage invasives.

The Trust will be offering training opportunities on how to identify, record and manage a range of invasives on land and at the coast.

They’ll also be providing volunteers hands-on experience removing invasives across their reserves.

This 3-year project will make a huge difference to vulnerable species and habitats, bringing us a significant step closer to nature recovery in Wales.

This project is funded by the Nature Networks Programme. It is being delivered by the Heritage Fund, on behalf of the Welsh Government.