Walking with Mary: Cwm George woodland

At the start of May, SEWBReC, the South East Wales Biodiversity Records Centre, issued a challenge. As part of the Heritage Lottery Funded project ‘A Dedicated Naturalist’, it asked the people of South Wales to take a walk with Dr Mary Gillham at one of the many sites Mary visited often and surveyed most thoroughly, Cwm George woodland at Dinas Powys. ‘Will you find as much as Mary? Has the species composition changed drastically? Can you add new species to the list?’, were the challenges they raised.

Always up for a challenge that involves a walk in a beautiful woodland, my friends and I went exploring. We were a great team: Emma, our fungi specialist (and her son, Callum, budding naturalist); Liam, our insect aficionado; Calum, the best plant-spotter I know; Cliff, our expert ears and bird whisperer; and me, knowing little about anything much but recording and photographing for posterity.

Emma soon disappeared into the deepest darkest areas of the woodland, emerging every now and then with a ‘Look what I found’. Liam scooped up beauties in his net and popped some into plastic tubes for closer examination – all got re-released unharmed. Calum pointed out wildflowers and nibbled at edibles, urging us to try a bit of this or that, and Cliff walked quietly ahead, listening acutely and watching intently. Little Callum beamed from ear to ear as he also caught specimens in his mini net, and, like the hoverflies that were prolific on the expanses of flowering Ramsons, I hovered here and there, trying to keep up with all that was happening.

Though we explored very little of its woodlands and meadows, Cwm George was glorious, and most generous with its offerings. And, though certainly not as extensive as Mary’s, we were very pleased with our final species list of 99 different types of insects, fungi, wildflowers, trees and birds.

Insects: Brimstone butterfly (Gonepteryx rhamni), Orange-tip butterfly (Anthocharis cardamines), Small white butterfly (Pieris rapae), Peacock butterfly (Aglais io), Common carder bee Queen (Bombus pascuorum), Red-tailed bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius), Buff-tailed bumblebee Queen (Bombus terrestris), Tawny Mining Bee female (Andrena fulva), Ashy mining bee female (Andrena cineraria) (above, centre), Dark-edged bee fly (Bombylius major), Orange ladybird (Halyzia 16-guttata), Harlequin ladybird (Harmonia axyridis), Hoverfly (Helophilus pendulus), Hoverfly (Rhingia campestris), Hoverfly (Eristalis pertinax), Nomad bee male (Nomada lathburiana), Bee Fly (Bombyliidae), unidentified Weevil, Oak marble gall, another type of oak gall, Hoverfly (Syrphus ribesii), Ramsons Hoverfly (Portevinia maculata), Beetle (Cantharis pellucida) (above, left), Beetle (Sphaeridium scarabaeoides) (above, right).

Fungi: King Alfred's cakes Daldinia concentrica), Unidentified woodwort, Artist's bracket (Ganoderma applanatum), Jelly ear (Auricularia auricula-judae), Beech mast ascomycetes, Candle snuff (Xylaria hypoxylon), Dead Moll's fingers (Xylaria longipes), Red elfcup (Sarcoscypha sp.), Glistening inkcap (Coprinella micaceus), Turkey tail (Trametes versicolour) (above), Arum rust (Puccinia sessilis), Bramble rust (Kuehneola uredinis).

Wildflowers: Yellow Archangel (Lamium galeobdolon), Red Campion (Silene dioica), Hedge Woundwort (Stachys sylvatica), Self-heal (Prunella vulgaris), Herb Paris (Paris quadrifolia) (above, left), Herb Robert (Geranium robertianum), Bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) (above, right), Common Hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium), Old Man's Beard (Clematis vitalba), Dog's Mercury (Mercurialis perennis), Common dog violet (Viola riviniana), Wood Anemone (Anemone nemorosa), Primrose (Primula vulgaris), Lords and Ladies (Arum maculatum), Wild garlic (Allium ursinum), Creeping buttercup (Ranunculus repens), Meadow Cranesbill (Geranium pratense), Herb Bennett (Geum urbanum), Honeysuckle (Lonicera periclymenum), Jack-by-the-hedge (Alliaria petiolata), Opposite-leaved golden saxifrage (Chrysosplenium oppositifolium), Common sorrel (Rumex acetosa), Forget-me-not (Myositis sp.), Wild strawberry (Fragaria vesca), Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale agg.), Ribwort plantain (Plantago lanceolata), Lesser celandine (Ficaria verna), Cow parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris), Cuckoo flower (Cardamine pratensis), Cleavers (Sticky Willy) (Galium aparine), Ground ivy (Hedera helix), Common vetch (Victa sativa), Wood spurge (Euphorbia amygdaloides), Bramble (Rubus fruiticosus agg.), Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata).

Trees: Beech (Fagus sylvatica) (above), Oak (Quercus robur), Hazel (Corylus avellana), Sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus), Ash (Fraxinus excelsior), Willow (Salix sp.), Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna), Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa), Elder (Sambucus nigra), Wild cherry (Prunus avium), Field maple (Acer campestre).

Birds: Buzzard (Buteo buteo), Blackbird (Turdus merula), Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla), Blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus), Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula), Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs), Coal tit (Periparus ater), Dunnock (Prunella modularis), Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis), Great tit (Parus major), Green woodpecker (Picus viridis), Greenfinch (Chloris chloris), Robin (Erithacus rubecula), Song thrush (Turdus philomelos), Stock dove (Columba oenas), Woodpigeon (Columba palumbus), Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes).

Wherever I turn, there’s Mary

Dr Mary Gillham was an extraordinary naturalist. When she died in 2013, at the grand age of 91, she left her massive archive of biological sightings and information, slides and diaries to SEWBReC, the South East Wales Biodiversity Records Centre. With the help of a two-year Heritage Lottery grant, SEWBReC has begun the ‘Dedicated Naturalist’ Project to decipher, digitise and record Mary’s material, and to ensure her incredible achievements are known and recognised.

Since I first heard about Mary Gillham at a SEWBReC biological recorders’ training course on 15 February 2016, she seems to pop up wherever I go.

That's Al in the centre of this photo, wearing the black beanie

The Thursday after the course I went and chatted to Al Reeve, the project officer, about volunteering on the project, and I started my first day’s volunteer work on the 23rd. But, even before I got started, Mary began appearing in my life. I mentioned the voluntary work in an email to a friend and he replied:

Dr.Mary was a lovely character, amazingly knowledgeable. When I first started working at Forest Farm, she gave me a lot of advice about the area around the farmhouse; and about what species were rare in the general area (so what we might want to plant/seed "out and about"). Would pop in and chat to volunteers from time to time about matters wildlifery. Top woman, ever so helpful.

On my first day I was reading Mary’s diary of her time in New Zealand and almost immediately came across the name of an author I had worked with during my publishing career in Auckland. I contacted her to see what she could remember of Mary and this was her response:

… I do remember she did pretty well out of Massey and New Zealand. She got herself appointed warden (Matron we said then) at Moginie – free board and lodging – but she didn’t mean to be there too much – she was away on the Cook St islands as much as possible researching the effects of seabirds on coastal vegetation or something.

Coltsfoot re-wilding the paths at Cardiff Bay

When I’m out walking I seem to find myself involuntarily walking in Mary’s footsteps. On a glorious spring day in mid March I went for a wander around Cardiff Bay and found myself thinking Mary would be delighted to see that wildflowers are re-wilding the man-made paths of gravels and concrete where her records show wildflowers once grew in abundance. On Good Friday I was walking the Taff Trail, the section from the Castle Street bridge down to the bay, and couldn’t help but check if the plants I had been transcribing from Mary’s records the previous Tuesday were still growing there. (They weren’t.)

Danish scurvygrass dominates the Taff embankment - not one Mary recorded

Last Saturday I went on a foray with my friends from the Glamorgan Fungi Club and there she was again. One of the women is a member of the Cardiff Naturalists Club (as was Mary) and was involved in sorting out all the unsold copies of Mary’s numerous publications after she passed away.

Mary Gillham in her later years

Our fungi club leader also told me that his mate Brian had been telling him stories about Mary recently over a pint or two at their local pub. It seems Brian had sometimes acted as Mary’s scribe when they were out walking and frequently got told off for not paying attention or not writing quickly enough.

And just yesterday I got this email from a local friend:

Mary Gillham is a name from the past!

When we moved to Cardiff I took courses at what was then the extra-mural department of the university, particularly picking out those with field courses. It seemed a good way to get to know the area - and it was. Geology was the best, led by John Perkins, who was also head of department. His field trips were in the summer, but he also led an informal group of walkers (the Hummocky Drifters) in the winter "so that they could get fit for the formal summer trips" ... and the winter rambles were free!

I can't claim to have known Mary, but she did come on some of John's field trips, because they often went to locations where the botany was good, too. I remember one occasion when John chided Mary, when the botany talks took up precious time meant for geology. But it was all good natured, as everyone enjoyed a wide range of interests and the social atmosphere was as important as the subject.

Mary, if you’re listening, I think this is just the beginning of a long journey together!

You can follow our progress with this project on Facebook and on Twitter. A website will follow soon.