Hello, I‘m Richard Jones, the project officer for the Dolau Dyfi project. Here is an update on what we have been doing since the new year….
Because the project had officially started before my appointment, and with the end of financial year looming, I was told to hit the ground running…. And I did!
So, up to the 20th of March, some of the work undertaken included:
· A total of 14 sites visited
· 5 sites signed management agreements
· Management agreements drafted for another 3 sites
· Capital works on 2 sites completed
· Fencing equipment purchased for another 3 sites
· Local contractors asked to quote on capital works on 4 sites, with the works to be completed in the next quarter
· Footpath condition surveys completed
What a busy three months it was up to the end of March!!! Twelve weeks into the job, and enjoyed every bit of it, apart from all the wet weather we had. However, the rain did not stop play, as all of the allotted site work for the quarter up to March 31st was completed to an excellent standard using local contractors, and locally sourced materials.
Unfortunately, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and the government restrictions, it means that some of the site work and visits are unable to go ahead. However, we are able to carry on with working on the project, but at a slower pace than preferred, and hopefully once the lockdown has been lifted, we will be able to work at full capacity once again.
A good example of some of the work we have been doing is on a site near Borth. The long-term objective here is to establish species rich, flowering hay meadows. The fields have been left unmanaged for years, and the vegetation has become rank and overgrown, so a contractor was asked to cut and collect the old vegetation, and remove it from the fields, before another contractor erected a fence around one of the fields. Now the work has been completed, the fields will be left to grow and a cut of hay will be taken from each one in July. Ponies will then graze the aftermath during the autumn. The pictures show the contractors undertaking the work.
Contact Richard