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On the ground in June 2018



On the ground in June 2018

July 5, 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 in June 2018:

  • Spent four days tackling Himalayan Balsam, an Invasive Non-Native Species, at two key sites on the River Meon
  • Completed early vegetation cuts at five sites to improve access along the South Downs Way
  • Replaced three South Downs Way finger posts, including one at an important hub in Queen Elizabeth Country Park
  • Cleared invasive nettles at a local archaeological dig in the Meon Valley to help clear the way for the next dig
  • Completed butterfly surveys at three sites as part of the Winchester Downs Farm Cluster
  • Delivered an assembly on our water vole project to East Meon School
  • Carried out one final water vole release to top up populations in West Meon. A week of activities involved volunteers, the local community, the education team, two visits with school groups and latrine monitoring
  • Ran the first Winchester Downs farm cluster Bioblitz with species experts and the local community
  • Ran a workshop for farm clusters on chalk grassland management and restoration with Butterfly Conservation
  • Installed a new pipe under a brick built culvert from the 1800s at Ebernoe to make sure that a pond drains properly to benefit biodiversity and keep the culvert in good structural condition
  • Gave a Dark Night Sky talk in Cheriton Village Hall to promote the International Dark Sky Reserve and good lighting principles
  • Sprayed invasive floating pennywort in a pond at Frog Farm near Petworth to prevent it spreading into the river Rother
  • Recorded silver-studded blue butterfly numbers on Stedham and Iping Commons for the Wildlife Trust to help them assess the effectiveness of their management and the impact of an earlier fire
  • Repaired a parish boundary stone on Midhurst Common
  • Met Rogate Parish Council to explore work on Terwick Common
  • Met with Woodland Trust to develop a management plan for Garbetts wood, Rogate
  • Took a group of people working towards their John Muir Award in the South Downs to Lavington and Duncton Commons to spot and record nightjars, assisting the Susses Ornithological Society with their annual surveys
  • Began checking barn owl boxes for chicks to assist the ringer in his work
  • Started reviewing and repairing an old fence line at RSPB Pulborough Brooks with aim to return a field back to a wildflower meadow
  • Completed a number of South Downs Farmland Bird surveys including at East Dean and Up Marden
  • Visited a number of landowners at the head of the Hammer Stream catchment area to discuss surveying for Invasive Species and started surveys
  • Pulled ragwort from Chapel Common and at Pepperscoombe with the Steyning Downland Scheme
  • Conducted flower survey at Stedham Mill meadow to monitor the effectiveness of the restoration
  • Helped the Friends of Midhurst Common volunteers conduct their annual vegetation survey
  • Removed a beech tree from South Downs Way near Tower Hill
  • Assisted the Kingley Vale Warden to install stock fencing
  • Resurfaced the footpath on western bank of Swanbourne Lake
  • Brush cut scheduled ancient monuments at Graffham Down
  • Led 35 people on Heartsmart walk with Ferring Healthy Walking Group
  • Completed lapwing surveys at South Stoke and Offham – five chicks have now fledged
  • Installed a waymarker and a gate with West Sussex County Council allowing access to a bridleway off the South Downs Way into Cocking
  • Cleared vegetation on the South Downs Way at Heyshott
  • Continued work on Mill Hill LNR to enhance the chalk grassland by removing invasive species. Butterfly Conservation have recorded large numbers of Adonis Blue on the site this year
  • Cleared regrowth at Longbridge, Cloth Farm and Mill Hill
  • Helped restore a derelict dew pond