Dyffryn Newt Complex
A project to enhance habitat for Great Crested Newts has taken
place at Dyffryn
Gardens.
Dyffryn Gardens is a Grade 1 registered garden which is owned
and managed by the Vale of Glamorgan Council. The Gardens are being
restored to their original, historical condition with grant
assistance from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
During the restoration work in the Gardens, Great Crested Newts
were found to be present and breeding in the pools above the
waterfall area.
Once the Great Crested Newts were discovered on site, a
programme of habitat enhancement works was undertaken to
specifically enhance the habitat for the Great Crested Newts as
part of the restoration scheme. The new "newt complex" has been
funded with grant aid from the Countryside Council for Wales and
the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Tunnels
The works have included the creation of tunnels under paths with
cement "runs" to guide newts into the tunnel entrances. The tunnels
have been put in under footpaths to link up the ponds to each other
and to the adjacent scrub habitat which the newts use for foraging.
Footpaths can act as barriers to newts, but these special newt
tunnels enable the newts to move freely around the site.
Hibernation Mound
The works also included the construction of a hibernation mound.
The mound is made up of lots of rough cut rock pieces with gaps in
between. Pipes are pushed into the mound to provide access routes
into it. The newts can travel into the centre of the mound through
the pipes and squeeze into the gaps between the rock pieces to
hibernate
