On Saturday November 9th, a group of 18 Countryside Management students from Bridgend College, led by their tutor Lyn Evans, came to Kenfig to carry out clearance work on an overgrown area, to create a ‘woodland glade’ alongside a popular path. This area had previously been a good place to see butterflies as there was a range of wild flowers there, including Birdsfoot Trefoil, which is the food plant for the caterpillar of the Common Blue butterfly. In recent years this patch has become overgrown with coarse grasses and brambles, suppressing the wild flowers. The students cut away the bramble and willow scrub, and cut the grass back so that the area can be more easily mown. After completing the work, the group were led on a walk to see the Pool and a dune slack, where aspects of sand dune management were discussed.
This kind of voluntary work has become increasingly important at Kenfig, as in recent years then dunes have become overgrown with scrub and bracken, due to a lack of grazing.
