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CHILHAM
Hares Farm, Shottenden
The KSCP grant aided the planting of 350m of hedge, and
as the planting was very late (into April), KSCP volunteers helped to
plant it.
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Chilham Lakes
The KSCP has worked with Mid-Kent Water providing two
log pile otter holts on one of the islands, encouraging the creation of a
pond, and planting 280 wildflowers all in 1996. More recently volunteers
have coppiced trees in order to clear access so that the site can continue
to be monitored for its birdlife.
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The pond at Chilham Lakes after its construction in 1996
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The Countryside Around Chilham - Railway
Station Panel
This panel interprets the countryside around the village
of Chilham with its orchards, woodland, chalk grassland and historic
parkland.
More about interpretation
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Train Rides To Ramble from Chilham Railway Station
Four waymarked routes from the station are contained in
this publication produced in 2000.
More about this
publication
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Train Rides to Ramble booklets
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Gorewell Wood
The KSCP has organised a woodland grant scheme, written
a management plan and led Canterbury Conservation Volunteers in coppicing
of the hazel and sweet chestnut in this 3 hectare (8 acre) woodland.
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Down Bank Site of Special Scientific
Interest
Working with English Nature, the KSCP volunteers
have cleared scrub (bushes) every year since 1994 to ensure that the chalk
grassland plants and invertebrates are not lost from this important site.
In 1995 volunteers carried out 1.6 km of fencing in order that livestock
could graze the site. Sussex cattle have grazed the site on and off, but
the KSCP is now working with the Wildwood Centre at Herne to establish an
annual programme of grazing.
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KSCP volunteers fencing Down Bank in 1995
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The site has a healthy population of man
orchid, nightingales and a rare invertebrate.
Kent has about 4% of the UK chalk grassland but this has
been declining, partly due to some sites such as Down Bank being allowed
to revert to woodland.
Chalk grassland has a great diversity of plants, up to
40 per square metre, and many associated invertebrates including
butterflies such as chalkhill blue and marbled white.
More about conserving grasslands
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Cork Farm Orchard
The owner of this farm approached the KSCP in 1993
concerning management of this 2 ha, sheep grazed old orchard. The site was
successfully put into a scheme called Countryside
Stewardship that pays farmers to maintain important landscape
features.
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Cork Farm Orchard
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The site was subsequently designated as a
Site of Nature Conservation Interest, principally for the lichens on the
boles of the trees.
Fruit trees are made up of about half Bramley and half
Worcester.
The orchard was also planted with a 180m hedge in the
winter of 1997/98.
Old orchards contribute to the image of Kent as the ‘Garden
of England’ but most of the big trees have now disappeared, being
replaced with much smaller easier to manage trees. As well as contributing
to attractive landscapes, old fruit tree also provide habitat for lichens,
invertebrates and hole nesting birds, whilst the orchard floor provides
rich pickings for small mammals and badgers.
More on
conserving orchards
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Chilham
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