A Community Of Wild Possibilities

By Marketing Officer Hamish Blair

Our Local Groups have wrapped up their winter talks – covering diverse topics from marvellous mammals such as Pine Martens, Beavers, Badgers, Dormice and Water Voles to reptiles, raptors, swans and even panthers for good measure. Furthermore, we had talks on botany, gardening, wildlife nearby and wildlife photography to name just a few! Thank you to all who attended and put in hours of work organising and hosting. If you are feeling like you missed out then make sure to keep an eye out for the Local Groups talks returning next winter!

Welcome to all new members who have joined since the last issue, some through the winter promotion, Christmas Gift Memberships or otherwise. Our partnership with South West Wildlife Fundraising Ltd (SWWFL) is growing – many of you may have recently joined when you met one of our friendly Membership Recruiters in Gwent. We’d like to welcome both Russ and Steve to the team, so far they’ve been doing brilliantly – here they are at the Monmouth Seed Swap (pictured above right).

To be frank, it is a difficult environment for many of us. The financial pressures are felt widely both within on the magnificent Minotaur Beetle. I learned that it’s a soil-boring, dung beetle with a short life-cycle and the fearsome looking horns belong to the males, who use them for mating contests. I was surprised to read that their typical habitat is lightly wooded heath or moorland and that they need well-draining soils to build their burrows up to a metre deep. charities and for those supporting them. All the while with a backdrop of the necessity to defend nature and protect the wildlife we all love. There are many reasons to be positive nonetheless; the support of our members gives us the ability to continue to help local wildlife and take action for biodiversity. We now have around 7,500 members, all of whom are helping stand up for the climate and nature issues that they care about most… As a community, we really are able to create the changes needed for us all to enjoy a wilder Gwent.