Biodiversity at Springwood
Here at Springwood Sanctuary, we are dedicated to and passionate about creating a diverse landscape of plants, trees, grasses and fungi in order to heal the land and water, protect riverbanks and create safe habitats for wildlife.
By conservation grazing the land, it enables different species of plants to flourish as well as enabling the herds of horses, ponies and donkeys to live with free choice and an abundance of wild medicinal plants to select for their health and wellbeing. ​
By listening to the land and stepping back to allow nature to heal, it has been very exciting to see a wide selection of wild medicinal plants appear everywhere, fungus proliferating (creating their underground network of micorrhizal tendrils which carry essential nutrients and messages to trees and plants), trees self seeding and populating new areas, hedges widening, dead standing wood and fallen wood in the rivers all creating important habitats and feeding grounds for an abundance of wildlife.
Over the past few years we have been excited and proud to witness how these new habitats have enabled an abundance of wildlife. Click here for some of the wonderful creatures and plant life we share this sanctuary with.
​
Flora & Fauna at Springwood
The history of Glanrhyd y Pysgod
For many generations, before we became guardians here in 2020, these eighty acres of land had been micro-managed and over farmed. Use of chemical fertilisers and spraying with weedkillers on the fields, hedges flail cut, trees cut down, dead standing wood removed, grass over grazed with hundreds of sheep, all the fencing included a lower line of barbed wire to inhibit wildlife, run off of chemicals entered the river and lake, rubbish including toxic chemicals were buried in the land or burnt, verges and garden areas were regularly mowed and fishing regularly took place along the river and in the lake.
​
All this use and over management had sadly caused high levels of pollution in the soil as well as the river (and therefore into the oceans). This has obviously had a massive affect on plant life, trees, wildlife, fungus, water and air quality by depleting vital food sources and habitats.
​
This also resulted in a mono-crop of short grass with very little else thriving here. It is sadly how our society has been conditioned to believe the countryside should look - until recently. It is our pleasure to be part of the healing process for our beautiful planet Earth.