Welshpool Golf Club are hosting a launch event for their £170,000 Welsh Government funded project, in partnership with Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust.

On February 4, between 2pm and 4pm, Welshpool Golf Club will be launching their project, ‘Welshpool Fairway to Haven’, focussed on managing and enhancing the site for nature, whilst also improving access for local people.

Having been working alongside environmental experts from the Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust (MWT), the initiative has received £170,000 from Welsh Government’s Local Places for Nature Challenge Fund.

The club have said that the aim of the project is to ensure more of their 91 hectares of land can also be used for the benefit of nature, such as the land adjacent to the golf course, Y Golfa, an area of land managed by MWT for the benefit of the Pearl-bordered Fritillary (PBF) butterfly, one of only nine remaining sites in the whole of Wales for this rare and threatened species/

Jonathan Gamble, Course Manager with Welshpool Golf Club, said: "To pass up the opportunity to partner and work with MWT on this fantastic project was not to be missed.

“With the help of the Local Places for Nature fund, the Welshpool Fairway to Haven project will not only create new habitats for PBFs, but also provide better environments for nature to thrive on the Golfa Hill once again.

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“Engaging with local communities and the public has been a goal for Welshpool Golf Club for many a year, and what better way of doing it than through Welshpool Fairway to Haven project and MWT."

The new project enables the golf club to work with MWT to set up a volunteer group, to carry out habitat management and surveys, purchase specialist machinery necessary to work in bracken and scrub on steep slopes, run events, install new interpretation and improve access.

Tammy Stretton, Conservation Officer with Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust, said: “We are absolutely delighted to be working with Welshpool Golf Club on this exciting new project.

“The Pearl-bordered Fritillary butterfly needs all the help it can get. The golf course is already a fantastic area for wildlife, but this project will enable a lot more habitat to be managed, benefiting nature, people and the climate.

“We cannot wait for more people to discover this amazing place and enjoy all the special wildlife which call it home.”

The launch event will be an opportunity for people to receive more information about the project and find out how they can be involved. All are welcome.