Restoration and expansion initiatives

Although it can be time-consuming and costly, the work of restoring and expanding our lowland heathland is critical to conserve our biodiversity heritage. This vital challenge will only succeed if the conservation and agricultural communities continue to work in partnership, so that the wealth of plants and animals of the lowland and coastal heaths of Wales is nurtured for the future.

Restoration of neglected lowland heathland requires clearing the site – involving for example heather burning and cutting, fencing, scrub removal and bracken clearance – and then re-establishing sustainable grazing.

Large-scale restoration projects were initiated in the late 1990s under ‘Tomorrow’s Heathland Heritage’ (THH), a UK initiative part-funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. THH projects have provided the funding for capital works and, more importantly perhaps, have forged links with the farming community. This has enabled appropriate grazing to be reintroduced onto many sites. Whilst THH funding for these projects has now finished, further initiatives are underway to continue the work in the Gower and Pembrokeshire.

Other large-scale heathland management initiatives include the Cadw’r Lliw Yn Llŷn project on the Llŷn Peninsula and the ‘Heather and Hillforts Landscape Partnership Scheme’ in the Clwydian Hills. CCW supports the work of these partnership projects through funding, advice and staff involvement both on the ground and at a strategic level.

Restoration alone, of course, is not enough. Small sites are still difficult to manage and largely uneconomic to farm. Expansion of small sites and the linking of fragments, therefore, are also essential for the long-term survival of lowland heath.

Projects to re-establish heathland on agricultural or forestry land are in progress across Wales. Two examples are: the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park’s Penlan Project, which is looking at heathland re-establishment following clearance of coniferous forestry; and CCW’s Marloes Coast Project, which is working to create coastal heathland and grassland on agricultural land on the Marloes Peninsula in Pembrokeshire.