Friends of Gnoll Park
A volunteer group with a mission to help improve the natural environment at Gnoll Country Park.
The Friends of Gnoll Park are a volunteer group, with a mission to help improve the natural environment at Gnoll Country Park.
The group holds monthly work parties on the first Sunday morning of the month that are open for anyone to attend. Activities have so far included invasive species removal, pond creation, species monitoring, habitat management and access improvements. Please check the Group’s Facebook page for details and dates of the next meet-up and to monitor any schedule changes.
Friends of Gnoll Park Committee
The Committee is currently made up of:
- Mark Protheroe – Chair
- Catrin Evans – Secretary
- Keith Roberts – Treasurer
- Debra Davies – Minutes Secretary
- Brian Warlow – President
In addition, a group of committed and regular volunteers help the committee and are very much part of the team.
Himalayan Balsam Eradication
Himalayan Balsam is a vigorously invasive plant that has taken hold throughout the Park. It is an annual plant, with each plant producing hundreds of seeds that can be projected up to 7m. This means that once it is established it can spread incredibly quickly, completely shading out the native plants that you would normally expect there. During the months of May to July, the group clears Balsam from key areas, before it can flower and set seed. It’s an ideal volunteer activity as it can easily be pulled up. There’s lots of it in the Park – so the more people, the better.
Wetland Restoration
The fenced areas below and above the golf course were originally created as wetland and meadow areas but had become overgrown with scrub and bramble. Over the last couple of years, The Friends of Gnoll have been focusing on pushing back the bramble and controlling the scrub, with the hope of restoring the wetland and grassland habitats that were once a haven for frogs, toads, grass snake, dragonflies, damselflies and many other invertebrates.
In 2023, The Friends of Gnoll secured funding from the Neath Port Talbot Local Nature Partnership Grant to restore the ponds that had been lost and start the process of meadow restoration.
There is still some work to do to get the brambles under control, but we are already seeing a huge burst in wildflowers.
The upper wetland area can be viewed from a viewing platform, but we ask that dogs are kept out of the fenced area, as the pond is sensitive to damage. We are already having some issues with the pond not holding water all year and are monitoring it to see how it develops in the coming months.
Guided Walks
Gnoll Country Park is an incredible resource in Neath. It is a haven for wildlife and an ideal place to escape into nature. The Friends of Gnoll have run a number of guided walks over the last couple of years, kindly supported by Dr. Charles Hipkin (Chair of the Local Nature Partnership), RSPB and Coed Cadw (Woodland Trust in Wales). Any future events or guided walks will be publicised on The Friends’ Facebook page or through our mailing list.
Getting involved
The Friends of Gnoll are always in need of more help, whether it’s getting involved in outdoor volunteer activities, or helping to organise behind the scenes! If you’d like to become part of a friendly and dedicated group to help make our Park better, more accessible and as biodiverse as it can be, please follow us on Facebook or contact us through the form below.
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