Online Talk: Managing Grassland for Invertebrates
Join us for an online talk by local expert Tim Kaye from CLaN Cultivating Learning and Nature, to learn about grassland invertebrates and how we can manage our grasslands to benefit invertebrates all the species which depend on them.
Tim is a brilliant speaker and this is a great opportunity to ask all your grassland and insect related questions!
Everything you need to know about Beaver Reintroduction
Alicia Leow-Dyke has been the Wildlife Trusts Wales (WTW) Welsh Beaver Project Officer since 2016. With over 10 years of experience working with beavers, Alicia is well placed at looking into the feasibility of re-introducing beavers.
The Welsh Beaver Project has been investigating the feasibility of bringing wild beavers back to Wales since 2005. This work is being led by North Wales Wildlife Trust on behalf of all five Wildlife Trusts in Wales as part of their Living Landscapes strategy.
Many WVW members are interested in reintroducing Beavers, which were once widespread across the UK, but due to over hunting by humans for their fur, meat and scent glands they became extinct after the Middle Ages in Wales and by the end of the 16th Century they were extinct from the rest of Britain.
This talk will tell us more about beavers, their ecological needs and impacts and the steps and costs involved in reintroduction projects.
Beavers are very special animals because they play a vital role in enriching biodiversity by restoring and managing river and wetland ecosystems. They are known as a ‘keystone species’ because their activities can benefit a wide range of other animals and plants that live in rivers and wetlands.
Online talk: New Year New Wilding Initiatives!
James Hitchcock will be joining us to introduce the Welsh Rewilding Alliance, a new initiative which Wye Valley Wilding is part of, aiming to help restore both people and nature to Wales.
Tom Constable of the Grange Project will be introducing a new website based tool he has developed to help people engage with rewilding projects and provide financial support to projects.
Lots of opportunities to ask your questions, so please join us for this online event.
Christmas Social
Everybody is warmly invited to a Christmas social and pizza at Wild by Nature's Lower House Farm, Longtown, Herefordshire. Wild by Nature is a regenerative farm business based in the Black Mountains and farmer Ed Dickson has offered to talk to us about their approach to farming.
We hope as many people as possible can join us at this very special venue. They will provide a short pizza menu for us and we will let them know beforehand how many to expect, the more the merrier!
Please email wyevalleywilding (at) gmail.com to let us know if you are going to attend, so we can let Wild by Nature know the approximate number to expect.
For menu price details and location please see the Wild by Nature website.
Fungi foray at Cwm Farm, Brecon
Fungi selection after successful foray. Photo credit Andrew Ridley https://unsplash.com/@aridley88
Fungi Foray and visit to Chris Blake's 55 acre rewilding project at Cwm Farm, Tregoyd, Brecon. Chris has been rewilding at Cwn for over 40 years and founded projects including The Green Valleys, Community Energy Wales, is Chair of Trustees for Global Action Plan and teaches at Black Mountain College.
We'll be joined by two experts Sharon and Annie from Herefordshire Fungus Survey Group who will be pointing out the interesting fungi at Cwm, as Chris shows us around his well established rewilding project.
Please email us to book a place, as numbers will need to be limited.
Wye Valley Wilders in conversation with Tir Natur
Please join us for an online talk from Tir Natur, Wales largest rewilding project, from 6:30pm-7:45pm on 17th Nov 2026. Email wyevalleywilding (at) gmail.com to book on and be sent the teams link.
Join David, Tir Natur's Development Lead, to hear about Wales' newest and largest rewilding site. Hear about their journey towards establishing a flagship site and see their plans for the future. Importantly find out how you can get involved - this is a people powered project.
Over the last 4 years Tir Natur's team have worked tirelessly to find a way to make space for a wilder Nature in Wales. While weaving a generational commitment to people and heritage as they find a place for nature - the start of this journey is just beginning.
We hope as many people as possible can join us to find out more, there is no limit to how many people can join via the Teams link. This will be a short presentation with lots of opportunity for discussion and sharing your own experiences.
Visit to The Ciliau with Hay Farm Cluster
Traditional Hereford cattle provide the income and conservation grazing at Ciliau
The Ciliau is a 200 acre Welsh hill farm, which has been farmed in the traditional way for hundreds of years. This visit will be in partnership with Hay Farm Cluster and will focus on conservation grazing.
The site includes ancient woodland, small meadows, veteran trees and Rhos pasture. We will be joined by local naturalist Ray Woods, who will tell us more about the flora and fauna of Ciliau.
Too book a place, please email wyevalleywilders (at) gmail.com
Old-Lands Visit with Grazing Management
Due grazing and livestock management being highlighted by a member survey on barriers to rewilding, we have an upcoming visit to the beautiful Old-Lands estate, farmed on regenerative principals, to learn more about grazing from Alex and Sam Crawley, founders of ‘Grazing Management’.
If you can considering grazing for your rewilding site, please come alogn to learn more and ask all your conservation grazing questions to the experts!
If you might be interested in working with Grazing Management on your site please do contact Alex (info@grazingmanagement.co.uk) for a site visit and more information on what they can offer.
To book a place email wyevalleywilding (at) gmail.com
Visit to The Meadowlands
Proxy grazers rewilding at The Meadowlands
An upcoming to The Meadowlands, a 200 acre rewilding project in the Black Mountains that also seeks to conserve existing valuable habitats through traditional farming and conservation techniques such as hay meadows and hay making.
This is an opportunity to learn more about conservation grazing strategies, visit woodland, wood pasture, grazed meadows and hay meadows, and see first hand the impacts of rewilding on a former sheep and silage farm.
To book a place, please email wyevalleywilding (at) gmail.com
Rowlestone Mill and Smallholding
One of our longstanding members, Paul Maslin, has very kindly offered to show us around his smallholding. It will be a particularly busy day for him because he is opening up his home for the National Mills Weekend so we will also have an opportunity to hear about the mill at his place in Rowlestone and see it in action.
Paul has 15 acres so it is a smaller plot of land than some of our previous visits which makes it all the more relevant for many in our network. Please aim to arrive promptly at 10am as it will be a busy day for Paul. We will walk around his land and learn about the ways in which he is creating and improving habitat for nature. He will then talk to us about the history and workings of the mill. Tea & coffee on offer too!
Dan Carne: travels through Europe's wood meadows & pastures
We are very pleased to have Dan Carne talk to us about wood meadows / pastures, drawing upon his recent travels around Europe, visiting surviving examples and talking to the people who manage these special places. Dan is a great advocate for these incredibly valuable habitats.
Dan was awarded a Churchill Scholarship to fund his expedition. He is a Director of Woodmeadow Makers and the National Coppice Foundation and was previously the Director of the Wood Meadow Trust. He is one of the country's leading experts on the topic.
Evening with Herefordshire Wildlife Trust
The Wye Valley Wilders are delighted to welcome Toby Fountain and Rebecca Meredith from Herefordshire Wildlife Trust for a discussion of Local Wildlife Sites (LWS) and HWT’s Farm Advisory service.
Visit from Alastair Driver, Director Rewilding Britain
We are excited to welcome Alastair Driver, Director of Rewilding Britain and one of the best-known names in British conservation, for a morning with local landowners here in the Wye Valley.
Wye Valley Wilding visit to The Grange Project
Situated in a beautiful natural bowl with the farm house at its centre, the Grange Project includes a biodiverse wetland, a profusion of ancient oaks, replanting and scrape digging and some truly charismatic residents.
Wilder Pentwyn project walk
Join us on walkabout at Wilder Pentwyn, Radnorshire Wildlife Trust’s effort to create a new model farm for the future that seeks to balance a wilder approach to land management with continued production of food.
Mowley Valley project walk
Join a guided walk through the Mowley Valley project along the beautiful River Arrow.
Nature Hub Brainstorm - Probert's Barn
Join us on the afternoon of Sunday 12 May for a walk around Probert’s Farm and a brainstorm on what we can do with the modern lambing shed/barn to achieve the best outcomes for nature
Probert’s Farm walk and networking
Come to Probert’s Farm in Craswell to discuss wilder approaches to land management in the Wye Valley and see some in action including tree/hedge planting, hay meadows, conservation grazing, woodland and ponds.