Welsh Water Rejuvenating Woodland For World Wildlife Day

Welsh Water has revealed that it is embarking on a woodland management plan to mark World Wildlife Day, restoring and enhancing the Gwern-y-Bendy Woods and part of the Rhyd-y-Penau woods, which can be found within the site of Lisvane and Llanishen reservoirs.

The aim of World Wildlife Day is to raise awareness of and celebrate wild animals and plants all over the world, with this year’s theme set as Forests and Livelihoods: Sustaining People and Planet, highlighting how important forests are for sustaining ecosystems and livelihoods.

The water company took over the reservoirs back in 2016, but they had been left largely unmanaged up until then, leading to overgrowth, making the woods inaccessible and encouraging the emergence of invasive species.

As part of the first phase of the project, dead trees on site were removed, with the work undertaken by professional tree surgeons before the bird nesting season. An ecologist was also brought in to make sure that no harm to wildlife was done.

Now that this has been done, work can begin on regenerating the local woodland flora and fauna, as well as setting up wildlife corridors by planting connecting hedgerows. A historic fishpond will also be restored to help further the biodiversity credentials of the project.

Chief executive officer with Welsh Water Peter Perry said: “We take our responsibility towards the environment seriously and this includes the sustainable management of the woodlands in our care.

“The work we will be undertaking to restore the woodland at Lisvane and Llanishen reservoirs will not only help preserve this rich ecology of the site but also provide accessible green space that will contribute to the health and well-being of future generations.”

World Wildlife Day is organised by the UN each year, with secretary-general Antonio Guterres commenting on this year’s theme, saying that the way forests are exploited around the world is unsustainable and causes harm to local communities, while contributing to biodiversity loss and climate disruption.

He went on to say that every year, 4.7 million hectares of forests are lost each year – which is an area larger than Denmark. Other problems include unsustainable agriculture and timber trafficking around the world, which makes up 90 per cent of tropical deforestation in some countries.

It’s also important to note how connected everything is – and forests have a vital role to play in protecting global water resources.

As you may already be aware, water stress and scarcity is one of the biggest problems the world now faces, a situation being exacerbated by population growth, climate change, extreme weather events, urbanisation and water mismanagement.

As such, it’s essential that we all do our part to reduce pressure on supplies – and, as a business, there’s a lot you can do to make significant contributions. If you’d like to find out about the eco-friendly benefits of switching business water suppliers, get in touch with SwitchWaterSsupplier.com today.