Natural Resources Wales / Trial Success for Grazing Goats

Conservation staff are celebrating the success of a trial at Stanner Rocks, Powys after grazing goats notably improved the habitat for two of Wales’ most at risk bryophytes.

The Welsh Marches project, part of Wales’ foremost conservation programme, Natur am Byth (NaB), has been working to safeguard colonies of Upright Apple-moss (Bartramia aprica) and Black Crystalwort (Riccia nigrella) since its inception in summer 2023 and was made possible thanks to funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Stanner Rocks is the only place in the UK where both of these species grow and they were at risk of being wiped out completely due to an overgrowth of bramble and gorse making the area inhospitable.