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A window on wild Wales

“Another feather in the cap of these wonderful gardens.”

And with those words, Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones declared open the National Botanic Garden of Wales’s National Nature Reserve.

Waun Las Nature Reserve is the first of its kind in Wales and has been created in partnership between the Garden, the Countryside Council for Wales, Coleg Sir Gar and Carmarthenshire County Council.

The minister praised the Garden and its partners saying the new nature reserve would play “a unique role in studying bio-diversity, promoting conservation and educating people about the natural world around us”.

He urged the Garden to keep up the good work and said how pleasing it was to see one of Wales’ national institutions gaining an international reputation.

John Lloyd Jones, Chairman of the Countryside Council for Wales, said: “This reserve has massive education potential – for landowners as well as the public. It will act as a demonstration site, reflecting the high-quality conservation work happening on National Nature Reserves across Wales.

“Waun Las’ location, within the boundary of the Botanic Garden, means it can attract many visitors to see the very practical work being done here to conserve wildlife and habitats through good farm management.”

The Garden director Kevin Lamb urged everyone to visit and see for themselves “this window on wonderful wild Wales.”

The organic Waun Las Farm – being managed under a Tir Gofal agri-environment agreement – has a rich mix of farmland environments including dry and wet broadleaved woodlands, lowland pasture, marshy grassland, arable fields, and historical parkland. It is also home to the farm’s herd of Welsh Black cattle and provides an excellent habitat for over 1000 species of flora and fauna, including:

• At least 61 species of bird, 15 of which are on the current UK Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) list
• Over 15 species of mammal and a possible population of the hazel dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius) a UK BAP Priority species
• 310 species of flowering plant
• 153 species of moths and butterflies - 5 of which are BAP priority species
• 331 species of lichen, moss and liverwort - 9 of which are Nationally Scarce
• 31 species of grassland fungi
• 21 species of fern and horsetails
• 29 species of mollusc
• 27 species of hoverfly

And with ongoing survey work this summer the numbers of species we know about is only set to increase.

For more information, call the Garden on 01558 668768