fbpx Skip to main content

On the Ground in August 2018



On the Ground in August 2018

October 4, 2018

From meeting with farmers, offering training and support to local communities, leading walks, organising and training volunteers, controlling invasive species and supporting key species, South Downs National Park rangers are out in the National Park every weekday and many weekends over the year.

Don’t forget to say hello if you spot them out working. Here’s a taste of what they achieved with our volunteers in August 2018:

  • Managed invasive nettles and completed field sign surveys of water voles along the River Meon, comfirming their dispersal and continued breeding success
  • Harvested seed at a local wildflower meadow near Selbourne with the Winchester Downs Farm Cluster.
  • Undertook two barbastelle bat surveys with Sussex Wildlife Trust at Ebernoe Common. Other work on the site included clearing bracken and gorse and pothole repairs.
  • Led a guided walks: round Lord’s Piece, Chapel Common and Ambersham Common as part of the Walk the Heath Week walking festival and at Pulborough and Cissbury Ring for National Parks Week and led a Heartsmart walk for 15 people on the Slindon Estate.
  • Helped with a charcoal burn at Lodge Copse, an educational coppice run by volunteers.
  • Installed steps on a couple of steep sections at Botany Bay to make walking safer in an area developed for educational groups.
  • Carried out invasive species surveys on the Hammer Stream catchment.
  • Continued work at Truleigh Hill – the pond dipping platform is complete and a new accessible trail is almost finished. We were joined by a group of Duke of Edinburgh students who helped with pond dipping and strimming, raking and planting the butterfly bank with chalk grassland plug plants.
  • Cutting & raking regrowth at Halcombe Farm Local Wildlife Site and Anchor Bottom Site of Special Scientific Interest to improve chalk grassland habitat.
  • Helped Natural England to carry out a comprehensive condition survey of Castle Hill National Nature Reserve
  • Improved a permissive path at Southease and cut the meadow at the local Youth Hostel.
  • Carried out a wartbiter cricket translocation to Deep Dean in East Sussex, completing a four year reintroduction project.
  • Helped to run a bat survey evening at Kingley Vale.
  • Carried out regular butterfly transects at Washington Chalk Pit.