Programme

Our programme for 2018

Details are added here as soon as meetings are arranged and confirmed.

Indoor meetings start at 7.30pm in Room 0.23 (ground floor) of the Cardiff School of Management Building, Metropolitan University, Llandaff Campus, Western Avenue, Llandaff, Cardiff, CF5 2YB - unless otherwise stated (*).

2018	Title	Speaker/Leader
Sunday 7 Jan *	Cardiff Birdwatch (outdoor meeting) Meet 10am on Wild Garden Road at the north end of Roath Park Lake. Bring picnic if staying for afternoon, which may be to a second site.	Rob & Linda Nottage
Monday 15 Jan	Members' Evening CNS members' short illustrated talks. Phill Blanning on 'Late Summer in the Austrian Alps'; Linda Morris on 'Polish fungi'; Mike Dean on 'Monarchs and Madeira'; Andy Kendall 'Some past members of the Society'.
Wednesday 24 Jan	Deserts and Dinosaurs in Wales The recent discovery of a new meat-eating dinosaur in early-Jurassic rocks near Penarth has helped fill a gap in the early evolution of these iconic creatures. Find out more about this and other dinosaur discoveries from south Wales.	Cindy Howells
Monday 19 Feb	A Saltmarsh Restoration Story ...As a nation we can no longer build our way out of trouble on the coast... Shifting Shores Policy, National Trust (2005). "Cwm Ivy marsh in North Gower is the site of the first saltmarsh restoration project in Wales.  a real flagship site for National Trust and a magnet for a diverse array of wildlife. This is the story of how this gem of a site has made the dramatic transition from poor quality, rush-dominated land back into a fully-functioning saltmarsh. My talk will give an overview of the origins of the project, the processing involved and the wonderful and prolific wildlife that inhabits the range of habitats to be found there."	Corrinne Benbow
Thursday 1 March (*)	Rearranged for  Wednesday 7 March 7:30 pm Please note that the location has changed to be the normal CNS location at Room 0.23 (ground floor) of the Cardiff School of Management Building, Metropolitan University, Llandaff Campus, Western Avenue, Llandaff, Cardiff, CF5 2YB We know it is short notice, but we hope you can make it  regards Andy Mary Gillham: a Dedicated Naturalist As SEWBReC's Mary Gillham Archive Project draws to its close, Project Officer Al Reeve summarises the project's achievements and results. This is combined meeting with the Cardiff Group of the Wildlife Trust South and West Wales and the Student Wildlife Society Cardiff University.  7:30pm. Wallace Lecture Theatre, Main Building, Cardiff University, Park Place, Cardiff.	Al Reeve
Tuesday, 6 March	Cardiff Naturalists’, 150 years of Nature and Conservation Andy Kendall will be giving a talk about our first 150 years to the Old St Mellons Gardening club. Cardiff Naturalists' Society members are welcome to join – 7PM at Old St Mellons Village Hall Newport Rd Cardiff CF3 5UN	Andy Kendall
Friday, 9 March	Cardiff Naturalists’, 150 years of Nature and Conservation Andy Kendall will be giving a talk about our first 150 years to the volunteers and staff of the Glamorgan Archives. Cardiff Naturalists' Society members are welcome to join 2PM at Glamorgan Archives / Archifau Morgannwg Clos Parc Morgannwg, Leckwith, CF11 8AW Cardiff	Andy Kendall
Monday 12 March	Student Bursary award evening Presentation of this year's Biosciences Prize to the 2nd year student from the School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, for their outstanding fieldwork. Zoe Watts will talk about her project, entitled 'The Secret Cleaners of the Reef'. Plus a talk on developments at Ruperra Castle from the Secretary of the Ruperra Castle Preservation Trust.	Zoe Watts Pat Jones-Jenkins
Monday 26 March	Saving near-extinct Birds - the inspiring story of the Seychelles This talk illustrates the range of birds and other wildlife to be seen in the Seychelles and describes recent successful programmes for saving several bird species that had become critically endangered. Note: this is a rearranged lecture (previously advertised as 1st February) and it will be held in our usual meeting room in the School of Management, Cardiff Metropolitan Uni, Llandaff Campus.	Al Venables
Thursday, 12 April	Cardiff Naturalists’, 150 years of Nature and Conservation Andy Kendall will be giving a talk about our first 150 years to the Radyr History Society. Cardiff Naturalists' Society members are welcome to join at 7:30 pm at Old Church Rooms, Park Rd, Radyr CF15 8DF If you are coming from Morganstown you go under the Motorway and up a steep hill. Just after the brow of the hill the Old Church Rooms are about 400 metres on your right. A building with a semi-circular apse that looks like a church. Turn into Park Road just after the building, it has a car park and plenty of on road parking. If you are coming from the Llandaff end, pass the church on your left, the war memorial on your right and the shops on your right. The Old Church Rooms are about a quarter of a mile further on your left. This time turn into Park Road before the building	Andy Kendall
Saturday 12 May 10am to 1pm.	Outdoor Meetings 2018 Taf Fechan Reserve- a joint trip with the Wildlife Trust Taf Fechan is one of the Wildlife Trust’s most beautiful reserves.  It is just north of Merthyr Tydfil and is a broadleaved woodland reserve running along a limestone river valley.  A great place to see riverine birds such as dipper and grey wagtail, as well as many woodland species.  The Wildlife Trust’s Valleys Reserve Officer, Lorna Baggett, will be showing us around.  Meet at 10 am in the Lon Maes Du layby on Vaynor Road (http://goo.gl/maps/XRS1L).  The visit will finish at 1pm.	Lorna Baggett
Thursday 17th May 10.30am	Wenvoe and Goldsland This wildlife walk is also part of the Vale of Glamorgan Walking Festival. It starts outside St Mary's Church in the middle of Wenvoe and heads towards Goldsland Farm via some orchards. Goldsland has possibly the only surviving constructed watercress beds in Wales, a newly planted orchard, sunken lane, lichen trail and bee hotel. From there we head back via St Lythans burial chamber and some more orchards. Distance 5/6 miles with several stiles, finishing by 3.30pm. Bring lunch.	Bruce McDonald
Saturday 9th June 11am	Insole Court, Cardiff As part of the Insole Court Heritage Day, Cardiff Naturalists' Society have arranged for Tony Titchen to lead a walk around the grounds looking at the many interesting specimen trees to be found there. Duration around 1 hour 30 minutes. Meet outside the visitor centre at 11 am. Parking, cafe and toilets are available at Insole but bear in mind that there will be many other visitors there enjoying the other events on offer on that day. For more information on Insole: https://www.insolecourt.org/	Tony Titchen
Saturday 30th June  10am to 1pm.	Pentwyn Farm and Wyeswood Common - a joint trip with the Wildlife Trust We will be visiting two of the Gwent Wildlife Trust’s flagship reserves and will be shown around by Tim Green, their Senior Farm and Wildlife Development Officer.  The site includes one of the largest remaining areas of flower-rich grassland in Gwent and provides an opportunity to see hay meadows as they would have looked in the past, before the advent of intensive farming.  Meet at Pentwyn Farm (SO 523 094, NP25 4SE) at 10am.  After visiting the two reserves, we hope to retire to a local hostelry for lunch.	Tim Green
Saturday 14th July  10am to 3pm.	Dare Valley Country Park - Insects of Colliery Spoil Tips - a joint trip with the Wildlife Trust Recently we have begun to appreciate that old colliery spoil tips can be great habitats for a wide range of invertebrates and other wildlife, mainly due to the free-draining nature of the spoil substrate and the dry grassland and heathland that develops there.  Liam Olds has set up the ‘Colliery Spoil Biodiversity Initiative’ and will be leading our visit to Dare Valley.  Amongst many other butterfly and bee species, we hope to see grayling and small pearl bordered fritillary.  Meet at the car park at Dare Valley Country Park (SN 98307 02702, CF44 7PT) at 10am.  There is a nice café in the visitor centre so we will probably break for lunch about 1pm.	Liam Olds