You have may have seen in the news that Snowdonia National Park Authority has received funding for a 3 year project to tackle invasive species in some of Wales’ residual rainforest.  But the focus is not just North Wales: it includes two areas of heritage oak forests in the Cambrian Mountains: the Doethie Valley in Mynydd Mallaen, includng the RSPB reserve at Gwenffrwd-Dinas; and the Elan Valley.

‘Blackberries and custard’ photo courtesy Ray Woods

The decline of these forests has in turn put stress on precious flora, especially bryophytes and lichens such as Pyrenula hibernica (blackberries and custard) and tree lungwort, birds including the pied flycatcher, redstart and wood warbler, and mammals including the lesser horseshoe bat, otter and dormouse.

The project will attempt to rid these areas of Celtic Rainforest of invasive species and find ways of improving their management, for example by changing how the woods are grazed.  We’ll keep an eye out for calls for volunteers in due course, for those willing to put in some spade work.