Collecting grass and wildflower seed on site

Slow-worm

Seeded wildflower meadow

An eco­log­i­cal sur­vey is fre­quently only the start of a process, and will often iden­tify a series of mea­sures nec­es­sary to pro­tect the con­ser­va­tion value of a site. Our prac­ti­cal con­tract­ing expe­ri­ence means that we can offer both ser­vices from one organ­i­sa­tion, ensuring continuity and easier project management.

Enviroparks (Wales) Ltd are a client in South Wales, who are installing a sustainable waste resource recovery and energy production park near Aberdare.  We have undertaken several reptile fencing contracts for them, as the site development has evolved, and this has also included standard agricultural stock fencing.  Reptile fencing is commonly required to pre­vent rep­tiles from adja­cent habi­tats stray­ing into the pro­posed build­ing site.  Plas­tic roll, or corrugated sheets, are buried several inches into the ground, in order to pre­vent rep­tiles from bur­row­ing under­neath.  At Hirwaun a healthy population of slow-worms has been safeguarded along with numerous frogs and toads.

In 2016 we reseeded some bunds and open areas of former grassland, using seed material sourced on site.  This work used a Reform Mounty tractor, grass flail and flail collector system, to gather a hay crop at the optimum time of year for collecting seed.  Two years later the grassland had established well, with a wide range of wild flowers and grass species present.

Fenc­ing in var­i­ous forms is an essen­tial eco­log­i­cal mit­i­ga­tion tool, pre­vent­ing wild ani­mals enter­ing a site, and also ensur­ing con­struc­tion machin­ery is kept out of sen­si­tive areas.  Care­ful plan­ning to prevent dam­age in the first place is the best prac­tice.  Rein­state­ment, or cre­ation of new habi­tats, are impor­tant, but take much longer to be fully effective.

Reptile fence