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Woodland
work to help butterflies
Work has
been completed at Denge Wood, between Crundale and Petham, by the Forestry
Commission and the Kentish Stour Countryside Partnership, aimed at
improving woodland rides for butterflies and wildflowers. The work will
particularly help the Duke of Burgundy butterfly to which this site is
nationally important. Unwanted conifers and overgrown scrub were removed
manually and the stumps removed to create permanent open
space, which will increase the amount of sunlight reaching the woodland
floor and regenerate native species of trees such as ash, oak, birch and
yew. Similarily work was done at Covert Wood, near Barham including the
opening of rides (tracks) by removing up to 10 metres of sweet chestnut.
The Duke of
Burgundy Hamearis lucina is an
exquisite butterfly found in small colonies scattered across southern
england
. Eggs are laid on the underside of the food plant which is usually
cowslip or primrose. The habitat is generally chalk grassland with scubby
woodland where sunlight can filter through. It flies from late April to
early June. The Denge Woods area is the only one in
Kent
where the butterfly is found.
The work was
supported by a £20,125 grant from Viridor Credits who operate the
Landfill Credits scheme from Shelford Landfill Site near Broadoak,
Canterbury
, and £20,125 from the European Inter Regional Development Fund (Interreg)
.
Jon Shelton
from the Kentish Stour Countryside Partnership says ‘The ride widening
work carried out over winter at Denge and Covert Woods should allow a lot
more light into the woods, which will encourage woodland flowers and warm
areas, this will benefit butterflies and other invertebrates. In time,
hopefully, these woods will once again be alive with clouds of
butterflies. With more open paths through the wood and opened up views it
will also be a more attractive place for people to visit. In Covert Woods
we have also created 0.5 hectare (over 1 acre) of new heathland. Plants
such as wood anemone, primrose, bluebell and heather should disperse along
the ride edges’.
The work is
part of a larger landscape scale project covering the Denge Wood Complex
of 800 hectares (2000 acres). In time, more rides will be opened up and
areas of conifer and Sweet Chestnut will be removed in favour of native
trees and wildflowers.
Butterfly
Conservation are currently running a Denge Woods Project which includes
surveying for butterflies and moths – see the contact details below.
Further
information:
Contact us
orButterfly
Conservation - tel: 01303 815171
E-mail: fthompson@butterfly-conservation.org
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