Glo i Natur CIC

01/11/2026

🪲 A rare Welsh beetle, a remarkable discovery and some exciting news from Pembrokeshire! 💚

Although Glo i Natur CIC focuses much of its work on the former coal spoil sites of the South Wales Valleys, our conservation work takes us further afield too.

This year, Liam and Christian have been undertaking targeted surveys for one of Wales' rarest beetles, the Short-necked Oil Beetle (Meloe brevicollis), at Castlemartin Range in Pembrokeshire — an active military training site. We've been joined in the field by volunteers Cath and Cathy, helping us search for this incredibly elusive species.

The Short-necked Oil Beetle has a remarkable history in Wales. Previously thought to be extinct here, with a 1945 record near Tylwch (Powys) regarded as the last Welsh occurrence, it was rediscovered by chance at Castlemartin in 2015. The Range remains its only known surviving location in Wales, and the species is considered Vulnerable to extinction in Britain.

The beetle was last recorded alive at the site in 2022, so its continued presence was a real concern. Throughout spring and summer this year, we've been returning to the Range in search of signs of the species.

And we had some fantastic news! 🎉

We were delighted to discover several of its tiny larvae, known as triungulins, on flowers around one of the bays. Measuring just 0.5 mm long, these extraordinary little larvae are easily overlooked, but their discovery provides confirmation that the Short-necked Oil Beetle is still persisting at its only known Welsh site, following a four-year gap in live sightings of adults or larvae.

Oil beetles have a fascinating lifecycle, with newly hatched triungulins climbing onto flowers and waiting for visiting solitary bees. When a bee arrives, they hitch a ride back to its nest, where they continue their development. It's an extraordinary relationship that makes the conservation of this species dependent on both suitable habitat and healthy solitary bee populations.

We're really pleased to see this important story receiving local news coverage, including this recent feature from BBC Wales:

👉 Read the BBC Wales article here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cry8317pdp5yo

A huge thank you to Cath and Cathy for their help and enthusiasm in the field, and to everyone involved in the ongoing conservation work at Castlemartin.

It's a privilege to contribute to the conservation of such a rare and remarkable part of Wales' natural heritage. 💚

31/10/2026

🦇🕷️ CREEPY CRAWLIES AFTER DARK! 🔦🐌🌙

Things that go bump in the night… and slither, scuttle and crawl! 👻🪱

Last night we had a spooktacular evening at the beautiful Ynysforgan Woods, delivering a night-time wildlife adventure on behalf of Wild about Swansea (Swansea Council's Nature Conservation Team), and supported through the Welsh Government's Local Places for Nature programme! 💚

Liam, Carys and the brilliant Joel (volunteer from Swansea Council’s Nature Recovery Team) were joined by lots of lovely families for a moonlit mooch amongst the park’s magnificent old trees, armed with UV torches and a healthy dose of curiosity! 🔦🌳

And what a welcome we had! 🦊 A stunning Fox made an appearance as we arrived, almost as if it had popped out to greet us before heading off on its own nighttime adventures!

As darkness fell, we discovered a whole hidden world of nocturnal creepy crawlies! 🕷️

From marvellous millipedes and speedy centipedes to spectacular Leopard Slugs, spiders and snails, there was plenty of wildlife lurking in the shadows!

It’s amazing what comes to life when the sun goes down, and those beautiful old trees provide a fantastic home for all sorts of weird and wonderful creatures. 🌳🍂

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us, especially our brilliant young wildlife detectives who weren’t afraid to get stuck in and explore!

Who needs Halloween decorations when nature provides this many creepy crawlies for free?! 😂🕸️

📸 Have a peek at some of the wonderful wildlife we encountered after dark!

30/10/2026

🎃👻 BEASTS, MONSTERS & GHOSTS OF THE VALLEYS! 👻🎃

Forget vampires and werewolves! Some of the strangest creatures lurking in the shadows are right here in South Wales. 💀

This Halloween, we're celebrating four extraordinary invertebrates with connections to the Valleys and their former coal tips and industrial landscapes.

🪦 The Beddau Beast (Cranogona dalensi) – A tiny, ghostly-white millipede discovered at Cwm Tips near Beddau in 2016 by our director Christian “Sparrow” Owen. New to Britain, it was previously known only from the French Pyrenees!

👹 The Maerdy Monster (Turdulisoma cf. helenreadae) – Discovered by Christian at the former Maerdy Colliery in 2016, this remarkable millipede proved to be new to science!

😱 The Celtic Ghost Millipede (Psichrosoma cf. breuili) – Another species new to science, discovered near Newbridge in 2015. It has since been found at several locations across the Valleys, including underground at the Big Pit National Coal Museum!

👻 The Ghost Slug (Selenochlamys ysbryda) – A pale, eyeless predator that hunts earthworms underground. Described as new to science from Cardiff in 2008, its scientific name even contains the Welsh word 'ysbryd', meaning ghost!

These remarkable discoveries show that our former coal tips and industrial landscapes are full of surprises. Who knows what other monsters might be hiding beneath our feet? 👀

🎃 Happy Halloween from the team at Glo i Natur CIC! 🖤💚

29/10/2026

🎃👻 Creepy Crawlies at the Castle! 🏰🕷️

Liam and Carys led a Halloween bug hunt at the beautiful Margam Country Park for Neath Port Talbot Local Nature Partnership, joined by lovely families and our regular bug detectives Russ and Gwil! 💚

We explored the grounds around Margam Castle, turning logs and sweep-netting trees to see who was lurking… 🔍🍂

There were hordes of Harlequin Ladybirds house-hunting for hibernation, slugs and snails (no puppy dogs’ tails 😂), harvestmen, spiders, centipedes, millipedes, woodlice and even a couple of queen bumblebees still buzzing about! A beautiful Toad hiding amongst the leaf litter completed our Halloween cast — no spells required! 🐸🧙‍♀️

👻 A little plea about ghosting…
Sadly, around half of those booked didn’t turn up. With the event fully booked and 15 people on the reserve list, that meant other families missed out. If you can’t come, please cancel so someone else can enjoy the fun — save the disappearing acts for the ghosts! 💚

Thanks to everyone who joined us for a spooktacular time!

NPT Wildlife

27/10/2026

🌿 ‘OUR CWM CYNON’ NEEDS YOU! 🌿

Did you come along to one of our walks, were involved in school visits or events? Please take a few minutes to complete our feedback form! 🙏💚

Your feedback helps us show the difference the project has made and support future funding applications, so we can bring more FREE activities for people and nature to the Cynon Valley. 🦋🌱

Even if you didn’t come along, we’d love to hear your ideas for activities you’d like to join in the future!

👉 Complete the form here: https://forms.gle/oRicmZymo5yADB7q6

Please share with your friends and family too – every response helps! 💚

Thank you to the Pen y Cymoedd Wind Farm Community Fund CIC for funding ‘Our Cwm Cynon’. 💚

Our Cwm Cynon is a community wildlife, heritage and volunteering project delivered by Glo i Natur CIC across the Cynon Valley. The first phase of the project was supported by the Pen y Cymoedd Wind Farm Community Fund and was designed to explore what local people would like to see from a longer-term...

21/10/2026

Aberfan - 60 Years On 🕯️

Today marks 60 years since the Aberfan Disaster of 21st October 1966, when 116 children and 28 adults lost their lives following the collapse of a coal tip onto Pantglas Junior School and nearby homes.

Today, we remember the 144 lives lost, the families and community whose lives were changed forever, and all those who continue to carry the memories of that terrible day.

Sixty years on, the tragedy remains deeply etched in the history of Wales and must never be forgotten.

Cofio Aberfan 🖤

20/10/2026

🍁 Autumn discoveries at Ogmore Washeries! 🍂

We took advantage of the sunshine at the weekend to explore Ogmore Washeries, discovering plenty of fascinating wildlife despite the changing seasons.

🍄 The woodland fungi were out in force, with Common Inkcap and Clustered Domecap among the species spotted.

🦎 One particularly lovely find was a juvenile Slow-worm tucked away within an ants’ nest, alongside the fantastic Ant Woodlouse — these white woodlice live within ants nests and are thought to keep the nest clean, which may explain why it is tolerated by the ants!

Turning over logs and stones revealed a whole host of woodland invertebrates, including two species of harvestmen, Pill Millipede, Eyed Flat-backed Millipede, Glossy Glass Snail and the snake millipede Proteroiulus fuscus.

🌼 Other highlights included the beautiful wildflower Common Toadflax, a large female Garden Cross Spider, a moth caterpillar and a rather unusual egg mass that caught our eye.

Coal spoil sites are full of surprises! 🌿🍄 From fungi and reptiles to the tiniest invertebrates, there’s always something to find, whatever the season. These remarkable post-industrial landscapes are full of life, if you take the time to look a little closer. 💚



Ogmore Valley Community Council Ogmore Vale And Nantymoel Hub Bridgend Local Nature Partnership

17/10/2026

🍂Hidden Life of the Woods: Discovering Woodland Invertebrates! 🔍

Yesterday, Liam and Christian (Sparrow) led a fantastic, well-attended invertebrate training day at the stunning Cwm Du Glen & Glanrhyd Plantation Local Nature Reserve in Pontardawe.

We spent the day exploring the woodland in search of its hidden wildlife, turning over logs and rocks, and sieving leaf litter to uncover the incredible diversity of life beneath our feet.

Among our finds were Ghost Slug, Silky Snail, Winter Semi-slug, Banded Centipede, Spotted Snake Millipede and Eyed Flat-backed Millipede, alongside plenty more fascinating invertebrates.

⭐ Some standout discoveries included:

🦂 The pseudoscorpion Neobisium carcinoides — a first-ever sighting for many of our attendees!

🔬 The millipede Turdulisoma cf. turdulorum — a remarkable species discovered new to science by Christian from South Wales in 2017.

🕷️ The harvestman Sabacon viscayanum, a fascinating species native to the Pyrenees.

🌿 The millipede Ceratosphys amoena, found new to Britain from South Wales in 2014.

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us for such an enjoyable day of exploring, learning and discovering the hidden life of our woodlands! 💚 And thanks to Andrew Street for kindly sharing some of his photographs from the day. 📸

This was our final training day of the year, rounding off a brilliant programme of free training across Neath Port Talbot and beyond. Throughout the year, we've explored the wildlife of coal spoil, meadows, sand dunes and woodlands, with bespoke training covering the likes of bee identification and the use of pheromone lures to find clearwing moths.

We're hoping to offer an equally diverse range of training opportunities next year, so watch this space!

This event was delivered on behalf of the Neath Port Talbot Local Nature Partnership, and funded by the Welsh Government through the Local Places for Nature Grant programme.

15/10/2026

🍂🔎 Life After Coal: Autumn Discoveries at Nantgarw! 🍄🌿

Today the Glo i Natur CIC team explored a coal tip above Nantgarw, Rhondda Cynon Taf, proving that even as summer fades, there’s still plenty of wildlife to discover!

🧡 Star find: Golden-eye Lichen (Teloschistes chrysophthalmus), growing in impressive numbers on a Hawthorn tree!

Once considered Critically Endangered in Britain, this striking Mediterranean lichen is now making a comeback. First recorded in Wales in 2015 at nearby Dare Valley Country Park — another former coal spoil site — it’s now being found at an increasing number of locations across the country.

🍄 We also found what appears to be Scurfy Deceiver (Laccaria proxima), although further checks are needed to confirm its identity, and what we think is Common Crystalwort (Riccia sorocarpa), a small, easily overlooked liverwort.

The site is also known for its Marbled White butterflies — uncommon in this part of South Wales — and The Forester, a day-flying moth that’s a conservation priority in Wales.

🐝 The butterflies and flowers might be winding down for winter, but fungi, lichens, mosses, liverworts and all manner of overlooked wildlife are still out there waiting to be found.

There’s always life after coal — whatever the season! 💚



Rhondda Cynon Taf Local Nature Partnership

12/10/2026

🇫🇷 🎥 What a fitting way to round off our first year as a Community Interest Company! 💚 🦋

On our first anniversary, the fantastic footage that Carys and Liam filmed with Michel and Pierre from TF1 (Télévision Française 1) back in the spring at Cwm Tips was broadcast on French national television!

What a wonderful way to celebrate a year of Glo i Natur CIC, and to share the story of Cwm Tips, its incredible wildlife and the community that makes this place so special with an audience in France and beyond. 🌿

🎬 Here’s the clip, complete with English subtitles! 🇬🇧

A little disclaimer: some things inevitably get lost in translation, and the subtitles aren’t always perfect! 😅 A few details of what was said didn’t quite make it across, but overall, we’re absolutely delighted with the finished piece.

There’s some fantastic footage of Cwm Tips as it looks today, alongside old photographs showing how the landscape once looked. But one of the most special moments for us was hearing ex-miner John Wilde recall the former Cwm Coking Works site and its industrial past. Seeing that history brought to life alongside the wildlife that now calls the site home was genuinely moving.

We had such a brilliant few days filming with Michel and Pierre back in the spring, exploring Cwm Tips and the wider Beddau and Tynant community, sharing stories of the area's mining heritage, community spirit and remarkable biodiversity. 🦋

It was a real privilege to help tell this story and show how places shaped by industry can become havens for wildlife, while continuing to hold such an important place in the hearts and memories of local people.

A huge thank you to Michel and Pierre for making the experience so enjoyable, and to everyone who helped us share the story of Cwm Tips and its community.

One year of Glo i Natur CIC, and what a way to celebrate! Here’s to another year of connecting people with nature, celebrating our industrial heritage and turning coal to nature. 💚