Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust is urging land owners to join a Local Wildlife Site Owners’ Group.

It says it is an opportunity for private landowners who already own a Local Wildlife Site (LWS), or wish to do so, to share ideas and resources to help others continue to manage land for wildlife, beyond its nature reserves.

Its appeal follows its work on ‘Where The Wild Things Are’, an Arwain funded project seeking to locate and monitor LWSs, areas of land that are of similar or greater quality than nature reserves, without the same levels of legal protection.

LWSs can be designated by statutory agencies, nature conservation charities, ecologists or local nature experts. Part of the project has involved surveying potential sites for quality, as well as developing a LWS criteria to be adopted throughout Wales and the UK.

A Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust spokesperson said: "Sites can be selected on the basis of rare plants or animals or important local habitats. The value to the wildlife trusts comes through providing more connecting branches through good habitat to form a cohesive ecological network that allows wildlife to thrive. Often, they can spell the difference between an isolated population becoming a local extinction or being able to spread into a healthier, more resilient colony."

Any private landowners who are interested in joining a Local Wildlife Site Owners’ Group should contact dan@montwt.co.uk for more information.