Afonydd Menai is an external project funded by the Menter Môn organisation. The main objective of the Afonydd Menai (Menai Rivers) project is to protect the water voles from a non-native predator - the mink. We can't help the water voles unless we know where they are, we also can't stop the mink unless we know where they are. One way we find out where they are is using water monitoring rafts, these are floating tunnels placed on the water with wet clay on the inside where an animal leaves its tracks for us to identify. We will train you in monitoring these rafts. If we identify signs of water vole, then we take the next steps in protecting the area and conserving them. We will train you in identifying signs of different mammals such as water vole and mink. If we suspect any signs of mink, we will setup a camera trap to confirm any suspicions, Afonydd Menai will then take the next steps. We will run camera trap sessions where we teach you how to use camera traps. We will also run surveys to identify signs of otters, water voles, field voles and other small mammals all in the aim of gathering more data and to put your field sign identifying skills to practice.

This is a brief description of some of the things we get up to and what we can teach you but there will be more related training events that come up during the year. Please feel free to join our group and come along to our sessions! Volunteer enough hours with us and receive a free project fleece!