Success with European bid
The KSCP has been successful with its partners the Kent
Downs AONB Unit and the Whitecliffs Countryside Project in a bid for
European Inter-reg funding under the title Living Landscape Project. The
total amount of funding given to the partners is £400,000. It comes as a
result of continuing work with the Parc Naturel Regional des Caps et
Marias d'Opale in Nord Pas De Calais. KSCP projects that will continue for
a further two years include the Countryside Conservation Grant Scheme,
Canterbury Greenspace Project and the Woodland Biodiversity Project. New
projects focused on landscape and habitat improvements will start in 2005.
Hedgehog-friendly homes
'House hunters may normally check the number of
bedrooms, showers and noisy neighbours, but in one of the newest housing
estates they are being offered a novel incentive, the country's first
dedicated hedgehog path' so says the Guardian newspaper. Unfortunately,
this development is not in Kent but in Norwich. The mammals are being
given trails, with holes through fences that avoid the dreaded road. The
houses also come with bird boxes in five styles, depending on whether
buyers want to attract sparrows, blue tits, house martins, robins, or
wrens. Developers in Ashford and Canterbury please note!
More on mammals
A recent study by the Mammals Trust UK found that
populations of hedgehog, vole shrew, dormouse, and hare were generally
declining in rural areas but populations were rising in towns, cities and
suburbs.
Truth about cats and dogs
Britain’s 7.5 m cats are often blamed for the decline
in some bird species. But according to the RSPB, there is no scientific
evidence that cats have any impact on garden bird populations. However
there’s growing concern about the impact of cats on small mammals.
Research by the Mammal Society last year found that mammals accounted for
69% of prey brought home by cats. Meanwhile Britain’s 6.8 million dogs
are estimated to produce 900 tonnes of excrement every day. This can have
an impact on some nature reserves by enriching nutrient-poor soils. A
recent study showed that while 86% of dog walkers said it was unacceptable
not to pick up after a dog, less than half actually did (Urbio, Issue 7
2004 English Nature).
Low Tide Day
On the 7th May 2005 Kent will see the lowest
tide of the year, with more foreshore exposed than at any other point. To
celebrate this and provide an opportunity for all to see what lurks
beneath the water, a programme of events will be taking place throughout
Kent. Low Tide Day 2005 will see a wealth of different activities around
Kent’s coast, from exploring the mudflats of the Swale to combing the
chalk reefs of Thanet. If you would like more details of events taking
place near you, please contact kent.coasts@kent.gov.uk or 01622 221487.
Award for Challock
Following the last edition of Stour View when we
congratulated Challock on winning the Kent Village of the Year, it's
congratulations again to the people of Challock following them winning the
Regional Award for South and Southeast for both Community Life AND Environmental
Action! Go Challock!!!
North Downs voted one of '7 Wonders'
The North Downs was voted one of the ‘7 Wonders’ of
the Southeast in a recent BBC programme.
Promoting the Kent Downs
Two more leaflets have been produced through the Kent
Downs AONB/DEFRA partnership – one on exploring three parklands in the
AONB and the other on horse riding routes near Canterbury. This makes a
series of five leaflets all of which are available from the Kent Downs
AONB Unit office Tel: 01303 815170.
Sustainable Rural Tourism in the Mid Kent Downs AONB
The Kent Downs AONB Unit has commenced a Sustainable
Rural Tourism Project, with the appointment of Sarah Loftus. Sustainable
tourism can be described as tourism that benefits the local economy and
local communities, contributes to the conservation of the environment
whilst providing a positive experience to the tourist. Over the course of
the next two years, Sarah will be working on a series of initiatives aimed
at raising awareness of the Kent Downs AONB around Ashford and Maidstone,
particularly to enjoy and appreciate the protected landscape and
communities through activities such as walking, cycling and horse-riding.
Local businesses will benefit from an emphasis on business support and
training.
Going Green
Fencing and hedge planting were recently carried out at
Anvil Green. The hedge was just 120 metres long but the work was tough on
account of the ground being riddle with flint! Naturally the volunteers
endured and we look forward to seeing the hedge develop over the next few
years. In addition 19 trees were planted, and it’s hoped these will
mature into a small copse, providing homes for the wildlife that abounds
at Anvil Green …..not least for the dozens of wood mice that were
live-trapped there recently as part of KSCP’s work assisting the Kent
Mammal Group with a countywide mammal survey.
New wildlife site for Charing residents
A 2.5 ha plot of wet meadow and alderwood has been
awarded significant grants to improve the wildlife habitat and open up the
site for the community, with environmental education being the key theme.
The site has since been officially designated a SNCI, known as Charing
Alderbed Meadow. Located beyond the playing fields it will form part of 6
ha of public open space for all residents to enjoy. The first job to
tackle is to create an access road and a hard standing for parking. The
grassland will be restored and the site fenced to allow the
re-introduction of light grazing. Hedge planting and laying around the
perimeter of the site will be carried out. A small amount of coppicing
will be introduced into the woodland and access will be improved with
boardwalks across the marshy ground. Much work will be done to use the
site as an outdoor environmental classroom, with an education pack,
leaflets and interpretive panels. The project will take 3 years to
complete and is being managed by the KSCP on behalf of Charing Playing
Field Committee.
Animals get Down to it
Down Bank SSSI near Chilham has been the focus of much
volunteer activity over the last year. Work to create a corridor between
the Kent Wildlife Trust Reserve at Broadham Down and Down Bank has now
been completed. The site has been fenced and gates installed, this means
that livestock from the Broadham Reserve can be moved to Down Bank to
graze this very valuable piece of chalk grassland. The animals came off at
Xmas but have done a great job at knocking back some of the invasive scrub
and grasses. Many thanks to the 2 ponies (Pip & Rodney), 18 goats and
41 Soya sheep, they will be sorely missed (not by volunteer Jon Lucy, who
got a kick in the backside from Rodney!).
End of an era
The last two Countryside Stewardship Schemes that the
KSCP will help with have been agreed by DEFRA. Charing Alderbed Meadow is
a small scheme with open access whilst the Hinxhill Estate near Wye is a
much bigger scheme covering the whole estate. The Hinxhill Estate scheme
will see a wide variety of wildlife benefits appearing including over 12km
of restored or new hedging, over 10 ha of arable reversion back to
grassland, the management of over 100 ha of wet pasture, some 45 ha of 6m
arable grass margins and a variety of winter stubble options. The work
will be rolled out over the next 5 years and enjoyed for a lifetime.
Wheel Barrows and Long Barrows
Members from Friends of King’s Wood with guidance from
the KSCP carried out clearance of bramble and scrub from an ancient burial
mound in King’s Wood, Challock. Long Barrow's are ancient Neolithic
burial mounds; this mound is around 5000 years old. They are the oldest
forms of field archaeology to be found in this country. They represent the
burial places of Britain’s early farming communities and are reserved
for the most important members of the tribe. This barrow is an impressive
70m in length and 12m wide with a surrounding ditch system. The volunteers
after a busy morning slashing, snipping, collecting and burning were
rewarded for their efforts with mulled wine and jacket potatoes cooked in
the fire. This was the last event of a very successful year for the
Friends, Pam Cadenhead, Chair of the Friends said, 'our membership has
risen for the third year in a row, we raised over £6,000 in grant money,
which was spent on biodiversity improvements to the forest and promoting
the Friends of King's Wood and our programme of walks has been more
popular than ever with over 70 people attending the bat watch evening’.
If you would like to join the Friends, or would like further information
on what the group is all about please contact Jason Adams at the KSCP or kings_wood@btinternet.com
