Funding secured to restore and protect local woodland

Local woodland including the Wenallt, Fforest Fawr, Fforest Ganol, Garth Woods, and Cwm Nofydd will be restored and protected thanks to a new project.

The Routes to Resilience conservation project has secured £346,000 funding to protect and restore these woods, which have been damaged by unauthorised trails.

Beech woodland in the Wenallt above Rhiwbina (Photo by Cardiff Council)

Led by Cardiff Council and funded by Welsh Government, it will see Cardiff Council working with partners including Natural Resources Wales, the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales, Rhondda Cynon Taff CBC and Breedon Group, as well as local community groups, to improve access for walkers, cyclists and horse riders, by creating a core network of trails and reducing the overall number of trails.

Important woodland habitats will also be improved and restored through the natural regeneration of former trail areas, removing invasive species and native planting.

The project will also engage with the local community to discourage the building of further unauthorised trails.

Cardiff Council cabinet member for culture, parks and events, Jennifer Burke, said: "The desire to get outdoors and explore Cardiff's woodlands is understandable - having so much nature on our doorstep is part of what makes Cardiff special - but they're fragile environments and the digging of unauthorised trails in these areas is doing some significant damage.

"Working with the community, the Routes to Resilience project aims to encourage people to use these areas responsibly, improve and restore the woodlands and strike a healthy balance between accessibility and protecting the flora and fauna that call the woods home."

The two-year funding, from the Welsh Government's Nature Networks fund will also see a programme of volunteer training and community workdays to develop skills including trail maintenance, species identification and habitat monitoring.