Category: Farming and Wildlife

  • Predator Control

    By The Bevis Trust In , , , | April 10, 2017

    I’ve just returned from New Zealand where there has been a major crisis in wildlife management ever since mammalian predators were introduced in Victorian times. Rats, stoats, weasels, ferrets, cats, hedgehogs, possums, rabbits, hares, pigs, goats and deer all either predate native wildlife or wreck the habitat. Efforts have been made to control their numbers,…

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  • In Like a Lion…

    By The Bevis Trust In , , , | March 20, 2017

    …out like a lamb, or so they say about March. We are almost into the last week of the month and it’s still feeling very lion-like and the forecast is only set to get colder and wetter through the week. It’s making the reinstatement work very difficult at Ricketts Mill. A few dry days last…

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  • New Ponds and Frogs

    By The Bevis Trust In , , , | March 13, 2017

    Really gratifying to see new tadpoles hatching in one of the ponds we have recently made. Toads are doing well here too but it’s saddening to see how many are being killed on the road every night. The herons too are taking their toll. They kill them but then find them unpalatable so it’s a…

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  • Visits and Events

    By The Bevis Trust In , , | February 16, 2017

    Yesterday we hosted a group of interested folks from both NRW and Carmarthen Council. Organised by Craig at JCR Planning, it was a great opportunity to talk to people about the work we are doing at Ricketts Mill and the broader beaver project. Over the past couple of weeks we have also attended the PONT…

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  • The Good Guys

    By The Bevis Trust In , , | February 1, 2017

    Western Power Distribution – what can I say? Their amazing guys have been working to get the old power lines down today in appalling conditions. A real heroic effort. And what a difference it’s made. Already the view is much improved but much more importantly, wildfowl and other birds visiting the lakes are now much…

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  • Natural Resources Policy

    By The Bevis Trust In , , | January 23, 2017

    Last week Jo and I attended the Natural Resources Policy Consultation Engagement Event in Cardiff. The title is certainly a mouthful and it was with some trepidation that we traveled to the capital, fearing perhaps some jargon laden attempt at schmoozing the environmental ‘stakeholders’. We could not have been more wrong, yes, of course there was a…

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  • Progress Down at t’Mill

    By The Bevis Trust In , , | January 18, 2017

    We have been making great progress down at Ricketts Mill. Steve has been pulling back the banks of the former trout lake to create shallow areas and we have been planting some of these with reeds. Reed planting is on hold for a while because of avian flu. We are planting up the exposed earth…

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  • Establishing Wetlands

    By The Bevis Trust In , , | December 16, 2016

    We have been very busy down at Ricketts Mill. The plan is to turn the old trout farm into a focal point for the Trust’s activities where students and land managers can come to get first-hand experience of management techniques. The existing lake was built for trout fishing and drops sheer at the banks to…

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  • Looking Back

    By The Bevis Trust In , , | December 12, 2016

    The summer seems so far away now. Daylight seems so brief and the mist lingers all day. However, my day was brightened immensely when a DVD containing lots of wonderful photographs from our friend David Woodfall arrived. He spent many happy hours in the summer photographing the top pond beavers and their kits. Seeing all…

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  • Frosty Days

    By The Bevis Trust In , | December 1, 2016

    It’s been a busy time with the beavers. We worked flat out to get the new beaver fence ready at the new enclosure, trapped a family of five and got them in, only to find that one of the adults found a weak place in the new fence and escaped. To make matters worse, three…

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