Our youngest Grazer of the Week so far is Seren the Welsh Mountain Sheep.
Seren grazes in the beautiful Elan Valley. The 70 square miles of the Elan Valley includes moorland, rhos pasture, bog, woodland, wildflower meadows and reservoir. The area is of national importance for wildlife and incorporates 12 separate Sites of Special Scientific Interest.
At Troedrhiwdraen Farm, the traditional Welsh Mountain Sheep are used to manage the rhos pasture and wildflower meadows. This area is abundant in rare Welsh species such as the Welsh Clearwing, Fragrant Orchid and Globe Flower, as well as an extensive wildflower list. The sheep graze the meadows until May, when they are left to flower until they are cut later in the season.
The sheep also graze on other fields which support mountain pansy, bird’s-foot trefoil and tormentil. Here you can also find the rare tormentil mining bee. The combination of sheep and cattle grazing also creates suitable habitat for grassland fungi and small pearl bordered fritillary.
For assistance in setting up conservation grazing, you can contact PONT.
Photos by Sorcha Lewis.
Don’t forget you can submit your animals to become our next Grazer of the Week by tagging @pontcymru on Facebook or Instagram with the hashtag #grazeroftheweek.