A day of wildlife recording at Radnorshire Wildlife Trust’s Gilfach Nature Reserve revealed an amazing 114 new species for the site. More than 30 naturalists gathered to take part in Chris Packham’s latest campaign which was highlighting that nature reserves are not enough to support the webs of wildlife which sustain our natural environment.

Chris Packham and his team dropped into Gilfach on their sixth and last visit of the day to hear that the nature-lovers had recorded 664 different species of wildlife! This included grayling butterflies which are rare in Mid Wales and were discovered high up on the rocky hillside of Yr Wyloer. Chris enjoyed a cup of tea in the farmyard and filmed an interview with lichen expert Ray Woods on behalf of Radnorshire Wildlife Trust, which will be available to view in the autumn. Gilfach project manager Darylle Hardy said: “It was an honour to be invited to take part in this campaign and we’d like to thank all the people that helped with the bioblitz. Gilfach still has over 2,400 species, so is incredibly important as a reservoir of wildlife that can spread into the wider countryside. Chris Packham stayed longer at Gilfach than planned so I think he enjoyed chatting with the volunteers.”

Radnorshire Wildlife Trust is celebrating 30 years at Gilfach on 22nd September with activities and exhibitions to mark the end of the Exploring Gilfach project, which has been funded mainly by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Natural Resources Wales.