Swan & other wildlife | Springwood Sanctuary

The Swan ... and all the wildlife that calls Springwood their home

I'd love to sponsor the trees at Springwood Sanctuary

I'd love to sponsor the water birds at Springwood

I'd love to sponsor the wildlife at Springwood Sanctuary

Find out more about the Biodiversity at Springwood

Mr Swan

Swanny Jim - Sven Swan - Lohengrin - Mr Swan! We all have our own favourite name for this majestic wild and beautiful bird who graces our lake and us with his serene presence ... and then takes off with a huge flap of his mighty wings to pastures new - goes exploring for days and sometimes weeks at a time, hangs out with friends perhaps then comes back to the tranquility of the sanctuary to enjoy his batchelor lifestyle. He is friendly and peaceful, enjoying sharing his feed with the tiniest of grebe and moorhen ducks and the mallards enjoy his company swimming in the lake alongside him. He first came to live here just after we arrived in the winter of 2020 and we are honoured to care for him when he chooses to be here. Like all ducks and all the wildlife here, he lives wild and free. It is our ethos to create and enable safe habitats for an increasing number of wild animals at the sanctuary by protecting the land and increasing the biodiversity here.

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 sponsoring the rescued, conservation grazing herds that we have enabled a safe forever home to, you will also be supporting the creation of biodiversity at Springwood Sanctuary. We have been guardians of this incredible land in west Wales for since 2020 and in 2021 David and Jacqui, together with like minded friends Charlie and Lorian managed to buy the land to safeguard it forever. We are honoured to be guardians of the land and many beautiful ancient trees here. Before we moved here the land had been traditionally farmed for many years, applying fertilisers and over grazing with sheep and cows, creating a monoculture of grass and having an adverse effect on the lake, river, trees, wildlife and of course the climate too. Everything we do is carried out with a light footprint, by hand rather than power tools and machinery when possible, sequestering carbon and giving loving care for the river, the spring, the trees, the land, the soil, the wildlife, all beings and of course our beautiful Mother Earth.

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.

Sponsor the Conservation Grazing Herd and Creation of Biodiversity at Springwood