Sands of LIFE work update from our dunes down south

With the Sands of LIFE Project in its final year, the team are working hard to give a big push to complete the remaining project actions across all our sites.

Project and Monitoring Officer South, Laura Davies, shares the project’s remaining action plans for the five key sand dune sites along the South Wales coast.

Vital work at Kenfig

A lot of vital work is due to start towards late summer at Kenfig. We will be clearing invasive scrub which can take over open dune grassland and smother specialised dune plants. We will also be mowing areas to help keep the vegetation short which plants, such as the Fen Orchid, rely on to thrive.

Invasive sea buckthorn

Over at Pembrey Burrows and Laugharne-Pendine Burrows we will be continuing our work to control the invasive sea buckthorn. Despite the vibrant flash of colour from its orange berries, this thorny species is non-native to our sand dunes and takes over the precious space native plants require to survive.

Mowing works

At Whiteford Burrows, our annual mowing works across dune slacks will continue to improve their condition. We will also be cutting conifer saplings which are scattered across the dunes before they mature and spread further.

We will be undertaking some mowing works at Merthyr Mawr and are aiming to do some follow-up scraping in and around our previous rejuvenation works.

Follow us!

All Sands of LIFE work is completed to improve the condition of sand dune habitats and give dune flora and fauna a boost. Please keep an eye on our social media feeds where we’ll continue to post regular work updates. We’re found @TwyniByw on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook or by searching Sands of LIFE.

If you have any queries about our work, please feel free to get in contact with me directly via email at Laura.S.Davies@cyfoethnaturiolymru.gov.uk