Golf Club’s ‘Fairway to Haven’ after £170k windfall

Welshpool Golf Club is to be the centre of a new £170,000 project that will enhance the site for nature, whilst also improving access for local people.

The club will team up with Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust (MWT) to launch the Welshpool Fairway to Haven after being identified as a key site for allowing rare and endangered wildlife to thrive.

The project has been awarded £170,000 from Welsh Government’s Local Places for Nature Challenge Fund, with the Club managing 91 hectares of land, three miles from the town.

The club already supports a good range of wild animals, plants and fungi, but as only one third of the land is currently actively managed for golf, there is huge potential for large areas of habitat to be managed for the benefit of nature.

Immediately adjacent to the golf course is Y Golfa (an additional 25 hectares), an area of land managed by MWT for the benefit of the Pearl-bordered Fritillary (PBF) butterfly. This is one of only nine remaining sites in Wales for this rare and threatened species and is the most important population, with four other sites nearby.

Other threatened species have been recorded on site too including Yellowhammer, Tree Pipit, Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary and Brown Hare.

Jon Gamble, Course Manager with Welshpool Golf Club, said: “To pass up the opportunity to partner and work with MWT on this fantastic project was not to be missed.

“With the help of the Local Places for Nature fund, the Welshpool Fairway to Haven project will not only create new habitats for PBFs, but also provide better environments for nature to thrive on the Golfa Hill once again.

“Engaging with local communities and the public has been a goal for Welshpool Golf Club for many a year, and what better way of doing it than through Welshpool Fairway to Haven project and MWT.”

The new project enables the golf club to work with Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust to set up a ‘Friends of PBFs’ volunteer group, to carry out habitat management and surveys, purchase specialist machinery necessary to work in bracken and scrub on steep slopes, run events, install new interpretation and improve access.

The club has open access through several public footpaths, including the famous Glyndŵr’s Way and the project will help to maintain these footpaths, improving access and enabling people to use them all year round. This would allow people to get closer to nature on their doorstep.

The project will be looking for volunteers to join the ‘Friends of PBFs’ group to carry out habitat management, and survey butterflies and other wildlife.

If you do not have any transport to access the golf club, there may be transport opportunities from Welshpool.

Those interested can attend the official project launch at the golf club on Sunday, February 4, from 2-4pm.

Tammy Stretton, Conservation Officer with Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust, said: “We are absolutely delighted to be working with Welshpool Golf Club on this exciting new project.

“The Pearl-bordered Fritillary butterfly needs all the help it can get. The golf course is already a fantastic area for wildlife, but this project will enable a lot more habitat to be managed, benefiting nature, people and the climate. We cannot wait for more people to discover this amazing place and enjoy all the special wildlife which call it home.”

To find out more about Welshpool Fairway to Haven, or to find out about volunteering opportunities, email tammy@montwt.co.uk or visit montwt.co.uk/fairway2haven.

PICTURES:

The stunning Welshpool Golf Club taken by Tamasine Stretton.

The rare Pearl-bordered-Fritillary butterfly taken by Bob Eade.