Schoolchildren help launch The Secret Marsh, a hidden National Park gem

  

A previously hidden part of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park was officially revealed last week with the help of budding conservationists.

 

The opening of The Secret Marsh: a previously inaccessible area of wetland at Freshwater East Burrows, the only Local Nature Reserve in the National Park, has created a new educational resource for local schoolchildren.

 

Over the winter, National Park Authority Rangers, Wardens and Voluntary Wardens joined forces with members of community group FERN (Freshwater East Reserve for Nature) to build a boardwalk through the marshland, plus a new pond and a bird hide which was thatched using reed from the marsh itself.

 

Children from the nearby Lamphey Primary School attended today’s launch and erected wildlife sculptures they had made using willow from their school grounds, with the help of local environmental artist Dave Welton.

 

Chairman of FERN Bill Reynolds and Chairman of the National Park Authority Richard Howells cut a ribbon across the bird hide to open The Secret Marsh.

 

Bill Reynolds, FERN Chairman, said: “This has been a very exciting and rewarding project for us. It has opened up an area which people have never been able to appreciate in this way before.

 

“As a whole the project has really enhanced the area. There is so much wildlife here which changes with the seasons, so every time you walk around there is something new to see.”

 

The Local Nature Reserve (LNR) was designated in 2007. It consists of sand dunes, grassland, scrub, woodland and marshland. It is a varied and special place that is home to scores of species which thrive alongside each other, including slow worms, glow worms and adders and rabbits (which gave The Burrows its name).

 

The project, funded by grants from Planed and the Environment Agency, is a great example of how the National Park Authority works with other organisations and community groups to help conserve the unique qualities of the National Park.

 

Chairman of the Park Authority, Richard Howells, said: “The establishment of the nature reserve at Freshwater is a remarkable example of a community-led project working in partnership with a Local Authority which in this case was the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority.

“I was particularly pleased with the involvement of the Park Rangers and the high level of appreciation by the Freshwater East team for their practical assistance.

 

“When one looks at the Reserve, the developing pond and the superb hide it underlines the foresight of a local group who identified the potential of what was an unloved and overgrown wasteland and transformed it into a wonderful asset for the community and visitors alike.”

 

 

Caption 1:  (left to right) FERN Chairman Bill Reynolds, Mrs Reynolds, Voluntary Warden Barry Clarke, National Park Authority Senior Ranger (South) Libby Taylor, Voluntary Warden Vicky Tomlinson, Park Authority Chairman Richard Howells, Ranger (South) Tim Jones and children from Lamphey Primary School.

Caption 2: Volunteers from FERN and the National Park Authority helped with the long job of cutting and stacking the reeds which were used to thatch the bird hide.

Caption 3: Lamphey Primary School pupils Amy (at the front), Alyssa (left) and Olivia with the willow sculpture they made for the marsh with help from environmental artist Dave Welton.

 

 

Issued by Laura Ridgway, National Park Authority Communications, tel 01646 624822 or email laurar@pembrokeshirecoast.org.uk