Wildlife Trust WSW Brecon Local Group AGM , talks, updates and book swap

All welcome to the Brecon Local Group AGM 2025, with committee reports and election of officers, update about WTSWW nature reserves in South Powys by Conservation officer Stephanie Coates and guest speaker, Liam Olds from Colliery Spoil Biodiversity Initiative .

The Brecon Local Group are delighted to welcome Liam Olds as guest speaker at the AGM. Liam has made it his life’s work to identify, record and advocate for the unique biodiversity found in the discarded waste from coal mines, forming the Colliery Spoil Biodiversity Initiative in 2015.

The south Wales Valleys were scarred by more than a century of coal mining leaving the black tips of coal waste. Since the mines and heavy industry closed, nature has gradually colonised these tips and mine sites forming unique habitats for wildlife through succession. These have become home for diverse communities of invertebrates, birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, vascular plants, fungi and lichen.

Liam will introduce us to the habitats and species of considerable local, regional and national importance he has recorded, illustrated by his amazing photos.

Early bird access to 2026 local group programme. Refreshments available.