Stryt Las Park

Stryt Las Park (Welsh: Parc Stryt Las; sometimes spelled Stryd Las[lower-roman 1])[5] is a park situated between Johnstown and Rhosllanerchrugog, in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. It is named after Stryt Las (lit. transl. Blue Street), the street which borders the park to its south. The park is situated on a former colliery and landfill site.

Stryt Las Park
Parc Stryt Las (Welsh)
Old clay pit, now a pond at the park
Stryt Las is located in Wrexham
Stryt Las
Stryt Las
TypePark
LocationJohnstown and Rhos, Wrexham County Borough, Wales
OS gridSJ2979246052
Coordinates53.00687°N 3.04643°W / 53.00687; -3.04643
Area3 hectares (30,000 m2) (nature reserve)[1]
Managed byWrexham County Borough Council and Wild Ground (nature reserve section)[2]
WaterPond
Websitewww.wrexham.gov.uk/service/parks-and-countryside/stryt-las-park

Description

The park lies between Rhosllanerchrugog to its west and Johnstown to its east. It is situated on a former colliery and landfill site. The park contains areas of grasslands and woodlands, but is in a predominately wetland area, with a large pond and three smaller ponds.[6][7]

Stryt Las has a large pond, formerly an old clay pit. The large pond is drained annually as part of conservation efforts and a general clean up. During the process, the lake bed is extensively cleaned, litter is removed, and fish netted by Natural Resources Wales are relocated to other ponds or lakes in need of restocking. The removal of fish from the pond is necessary to prevent a decline in the great crested newt's population, a rare amphibian present in the park.[8][9]

In 2021, following a conservation project which created a new "secret garden" with new ponds, the nature conservation charity Wild Ground called on local children to produce artwork to be displayed at the park.[10]

Biodiversity
Mosaic Newt in the park

The park is within the Johnstown Special Area of Conservation along with Bonc yr Hafod Country Park, due to the local presence of the rare great crested newts, present at the park's pond.[6][11][12] The populations are one of the largest known breeding populations of the great crested newt in Great Britain. Other notable amphibians include: various frogs, toads, smooth newts and palmate newts.[13] Butterflies in the park include: Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta), Small skipper, Green-veined white and the Comma Butterfly. Whereas birds such as bullfinches, redwings, swallows, house martins, snipes, mute swans, great tits, goldfinches, magpies, chaffinches, and water rails are also present in the park.[13] The park is part of the Stryt Las a'r Hafod Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).[5][6][14] A wildfowl population, such as ducks and swans (mute swans), have been recorded in the large pond, with the park also having managing issues with crassula, in particular the invasive species crassula helmsii which can destroy life in the ponds.[13][15][16]

See also

Notes
  1. "Street" is usually translated into "Stryd" or "Heol" in modern Welsh.[3][4] "Stryt" is mainly used by Wrexham County Borough Council.

References
  1. "Stryt Las Nature Reserve - Wild Ground". www.groundworknorthwales.org.uk. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  2. "MS Ken Skates visits beauty spot to see efforts of Johnstown project". The Leader. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  3. ""Street", TermCymru - Search for a term, word or phrase". GOV.WALES. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  4. "Stryd - Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru". welsh-dictionary.ac.uk. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  5. Jones, Tim, ed. (25 January 2008). CORE MANAGEMENT PLAN INCLUDING CONSERVATION OBJECTIVES FOR Johnstown Newt Sites Special Area of Conservation (SAC) (PDF). Countryside Council for Wales.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  6. "Stryt Las Park | Wrexham County Borough Council". www.wrexham.gov.uk. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  7. "Country parks". 26 March 2010. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  8. "Annual clean up of large pond in Wrexham to take place". The Leader. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  9. "Annual clean up and litter removal at Stryt Las Park". Wrexham.com. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  10. "Nature conversation charity calls on budding young artists to create artwork for Stryt Las country park". Wrexham.com. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  11. Roberts, Craig (5 October 2018). "Stryt Las Park is a great place to spend an afternoon… - news.wrexham.gov.uk". Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  12. "Hafod Hooter". www.hafodhooter.co.uk. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  13. "Stryt Las Nature Reserve - Wild Ground". www.groundworknorthwales.org.uk. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  14. SITES OF SPECIAL SCIENTIFIC INTEREST CITATION WREXHAM STRYT LAS A'R HAFOD (PDF). Countryside Council for Wales.
  15. Stevens, Gill (7 January 2021). "Stryt Las Gets its Annual Clean Up - news.wrexham.gov.uk". Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  16. Haysom, Karen; Driver, Dorothy; Cartwright, Mandy; Wilkinson, John; Foster, Jim (2018). Review of the Current Conservation Status (CCS) of the Great Crested Newt in Wales, with specific references to its long term prospects and within its stronghold in North East Wales (PDF). Report No. 259. Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust; Natural Resources Wales. p. 54.
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