Biodiversity is the rich variety of plants and animals which share our planet.

Some species are highly adaptable and can live in many different habitats around the world; we human beings are a good example!. Most plants and animals, however, are much more specialised, and each habitat supports its own range of living things. Wherever you go you are surrounded by life; in city and in forest, in meadows, gardens and houses, rivers and marshes, everywhere!

It is this specialisation which makes the natural world so complex and fascinating; millions of years of evolution have led to a web of life in which many species have to perform a very skilled balancing act. If we damage a part of the web, we make some of our fellow "citizens of the planet" homeless.

At Moelyci we are blessed with a breathtaking range of habitats from mountain top to lowland pasture; marshes, streams, pasture, heathlands, flower-rich meadows, woodland, scrub, barns and outbuildings, arable fields and more besides. Each of these habitats supports special plants, birds, insects and other forms of life, some beautiful, some bizarre, from ancient trees to microscopic water creatures, from buzzards to butterfly orchids.

Already we have recorded hundreds of species of plants and animals which have Moelyci as their home, yet we have barely scratched the surface; new species turn up on virtually every walk over the land. As a resource for environmental education and as a source of wonder, Moelyci is, quite simply, wonderful.

As Moelyci develops, she will provide a broad range of opportunities for people of all backgrounds to enjoy, learn about, and be enriched by this wealth of biodiversity. One of the key roles for the Environmental Centre is to safeguard this natural heritage. This involves managing the land sensitively to protect existing habitats; continuing and adapting the traditional grazing in some areas, cultivation of arable land, and cutting of bracken and scrub in other areas. In some fields, scrub and woodland succession is being allowed to take place. In all this work we can provide hands-on opportunities for people to develop the skills of land management, or just enjoy a good day's work outside.

Overall the intention is to maintain as much as possible of the existing biodiversity, while keeping an eye out for situations where we could create new and valuable possibilities.

If you want to see green woodpeckers or pseudoscorpions, pick bilberries or enjoy a walk over the fragrant carpet of heather and gorse, visit Moelyci. If you would like to understand how wildlife is affected by the way we manage land, get in touch. At Moelyci we appreciate how fortunate we are to have this resource of biodiversity, and recognise the challenges and opportunities in protecting it, and using it wisely to allow others the chance to enjoy and learn from it.