The next generation of National Park wardens and rangers have been learning sustainable woodland management skills with the help of the educational charity Coppicewood College.

The five Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority trainees were instructed how to lay a hedge using traditional hand tools in Kilkiffeth Wood in the Gwaun Valley, as part of the Skills in Action project.

The trainees worked over three days to lay a hedge of immature blackthorn and hawthorn that was planted by the Park Authority around five years ago alongside a footpath.

Skills in Action project co-ordinator for Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority, Tom Iggleden, said: “It is fantastic that these trainees have had the opportunity to learn these traditional techniques while at the same time helping conserve a protected site which is so rich in biodiversity.

“This work with the Coppicewood College follows on from a hedgelaying project with Keep Wales Tidy’s Long Forest Project that was completed alongside Skills in Action trainees from the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority.”

Hedgelaying is a traditional method of maintaining a hedge to create a secure boundary - in the past it would have been used to keep livestock in or out, but it is also an excellent way of extending the life of a hedge.

By cutting plants at the bottom and creating a fence-like structure using living, laid branches, it encourages new growth and provides food sources and shelter for a range of insects, birds and mammals.

Skills in Action is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund Skills for the Future grant programme and sees trainees given the opportunity to learn new skills through work-based experience with the National Park Authority’s warden and ranger teams.

Kilkiffeth Wood is part of the North Pembrokeshire Woodlands Special Area of Conservation and is also a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is home to dormice and also the rare string of sausages lichen.