Fen Orchid Conservation Work at Kenfig National Nature Reserve - Sue Parker, First Nature

The first phase of a 5 year plan to conserve the Fen Orchid (Liparis loeselii) has begun at Kenfig National Nature Reserve.

Fen Orchid

Fen Orchid, photographed at Kenfig National Nature Reserve

The dune slacks of Kenfig National Nature Reserve are one of the last strongholds of the Fen Orchid (Liparis loeselii Var. ovata) and, as part of an ongoing programme to protect it, CCW (Countryside Council for Wales) is working in partnership with Kenfig staff to improve the habitat at the nature reserve. There is already a programme of close mowing being carried out each year to simulate the effects of animal grazing necessary for the orchids' survival, but now it is proposed to create new dune slacks in the hope that the orchids will colonise them.

The threat to the Fen Orchid population at Kenfig National Nature Reserve was identified during the 1990s, and it is hoped that colonisation of the new dune slacks by the fen orchid will take place within 10 years of the start of the programme. The scheme is to be monitored throughout by CCW.