Cwmtalwg Local Nature Reserve
Citation
Cwmtalwg Woodlands Residents Group was given the UK-MAB Urban Wildlife Award for Excellence in 2004 for: their work to secure the protection of, and manage Cwmtalwg Local Nature Reserve over the years 1988 to 2003.
Description
The Cwmtalwg Local Nature Reserve is on the edge of the town of Barry, South Wales, and consists of 2.85 hectares of deciduous woods in three sections, separated by a housing development. The land is owned by the Vale of Glamorgan Council and managed by the Cwmtalwg Woodlands Residents Group for the benefit of the local people and wildlife. The woods show many of the features of ancient woodland, and includes an overgrown hedge, which is marked on a map of the 1790's. The Reserve is notable for the profusion of Goldilocks buttercups in the spring.
This project is a good example in Wales of community action to protect natural features in an urban area. The Residents’ Group came together in 1988 to fight the local authority who proposed to remove an ancient hedgerow. The project has progressed from an anti-development campaign to a partnership with the local authority. The Cwmtalwg Woodlands Residents Group have secured the protection not just of the original hedgerow, but of a collection of three small woodlands in the locality. The Group now manage these linked sites which have been designated under UK law as a Local Nature Reserve.
Contact:
Dr Anne Bryan (Secretary),
Cwmtalwg Woodlands Residents Group,
31 Colcot Road Barry,
South Glamorgan,
Wales,
CF62 8HJ.