During a recent visit to Dr Beynon’s Bug Farm, the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs, Huw Irranca-Davies had an opportunity to learn more about the wonders of bugs, the role they play in our lives and what humans can do to help them.
Located near St Davids, Dr Beynon’s Bug Farm is an innovative and unique research and visitor centre, farm and nature reserve which has a Tropical Bug Zoo, Bug Museum, British Bug House, Insect Farming Exhibition, Farm Trails and a Walled Garden.
During his visit, the Cabinet Secretary had the opportunity to see how Welsh Government investment from the Nature Networks Fund and Local Places for Nature funding has been used to run its Connected Commons & The Centre for Nature Recovery project.
The project is aiming to plug the gaps in the fragmented habitat corridor across the St Davids peninsula to strengthen the resilience of its network of protected land.
The Cabinet Secretary also had a sneak peak of the pollinator trail which is being relaunched this year. The St Davids Pollinator Trail led to St Davids being designated as Wales’s first ‘Bee Friendly’ city.
The Cabinet Secretary, said: “It’s been wonderful to visit Dr Beynon’s Bug Farm which is so focused on nature recovery, we can all learn from what has been achieved here. Everything comes together here in a wonderful web of food, farming, research and conservation to promote biodiversity and nature recovery.
“It was fascinating to learn more about the importance of British dung beetles that are sadly in decline. They play an essential role in reducing dung on pasture. Dung beetles and other dung invertebrates fertilise and aerate soils naturally as well as reducing greenhouse gases.
“Thanks so much to everyone at Dr Beynon’s Bug Farm – what a great place to visit.”
Dr Sarah Beynon, Founding Director, said: “It was fabulous to show the Cabinet Secretary our work with farmers, vets and conservation bodies to connect-up wildlife habitat here on the St Davids peninsula. We have a fantastic opportunity for this work to be used as a case study of innovative and collaborative nature recovery solutions that fit alongside sustainable food production. We look forward to welcoming visitors to The Bug Farm to see this project in action”.
