Old Skyline, New Era
Chilston Pines, an area of historical influence on the
Kent
landscape, faced a crushing blow in the hurricane of 1987.
Scots pine, formerly planted to create a designed landscape with
far reaching vistas from the grandeur of
Chilston
Park
, fell to the hands of the wind. For
years scattered timbers have lain like an elephant’s graveyard in the
field adjacent to the M20 coast-bound.
Whilst the fallen wood has created satisfying homes for
invertebrates, fungi’s and small mammals, the once noble skyline has
appeared empty.
On Wednesday 25th February, Kentish Stour Countryside
Partnership volunteers re-planted the site with a range of tree species
including Scots Pine, Oak and Larch. Planting
has once again been designed to ensure the striking silhouette of Scots
Pine demands the skyline of this beautifully and intrinsically planned
landscape from yesteryear.
Tom Marks, project officer with the Stour Partnership, led the task day in
February for the Heaths Countryside Corridor.
The Heaths Countryside Corridor committee manage a number of wild
areas that have been fragmented by the imprint of the Channel Tunnel Rail
Link (CTRL) on the countryside through Charing and Lenham Heath.
