Project to save newts from falling down the drains!
A Local Authority owned pond in the Vale of Glamorgan is home
to South Wales’ largest population of great crested newt.
The newts need a terrestrial habitat to hunt for invertebrate
prey and shelter during cold or very dry times of the year. To
access these sites, the newts needed to cross a road near the pond
where they would unwittingly fall into the drains set tight against
the kerb.
Vale Voluntary Great Crested Newt Surveyor, Stephen Lowe,
reported that hundreds of newts were being trapped in the drains
each year where they were unable to escape. A program of rescues
was immediately undertaken by the pond survey team to find the
extent of the problem.
In 2005, the Council’s Highways Division and Ecology Team began
work to move the drains away from the kerb: leaving a little ledge
for the newts to walk along (see photos). The scheme was
match-funded by the Countryside Council for Wales.
The modifications are now complete and survey results from 2006
suggest that the kerb changes have been a success: only 65 newts
were found in the drains compared to 318 before work began.
Before and after - the drains were moved away from the
kerb, leaving a ledge for the newts to walk along
For more information you read the article
on the BBC website or for more detail (including the
monitoring data) contact the ecology team on 01446 704855 or
ecology@valeofglamorgan.gov.uk