Partnerships for Nature

Action for the River Kennet (ARK) and BioCap worked with the Sulham Estate to create more than two hectares of new wetland habitat in a former arable field next to the railway line near Pangbourne. It will become the home for a huge diversity of wildlife. The areas around the new ponds have been planted with wet-loving grasses and other suitable native plants. The wetland will change as water levels fluctuate throughout the seasons. providing suitable habitat for a variety of species, from dragonflies to wading birds. The project was funded by Partnerships for Nature and Mend the Gap.

Sheepdrove Organic Farm and Plantlife created habitiats for arable wildflowers on field margins. Arable wildflowers were once a familiar sight on farms. They play a crucial role in supporting other wildlife and add colour and beauty to the landscape. But their numbers have drastically declined due to modern agricultural practices – and they are now the most critically threatened group of wild plants in the UK. Three dew ponds have also been restored as part of the project at Sheepdrove, increasing biodiversity and providing important on-farm freshwater. Additional work included creating scrapes for planting locally rare juniper and arable wildflowers.

The Bucklebury Estate introduced a herd of Belted Galloway cattle to carry out vital conservation grazing of restored heathland and wood pasture on Bucklebury Common – the largest area of rare lowland heathland remaining in the North Wessex Downs. The project at Bucklebury Common also supported habitat restoration by removing invasive species of holly, pollarding young trees, creating hibernacular, and restoring ponds.

The Southern Streams Farmer Group and FWAG South East supported chalk grassland restoration at Tidcombe in Wiltshire. Chalk grassland is one of the UK’s most threatened yet ecologically rich habitats – over 40 species of flowering plants can be found in just a single square metre. Around 9% of the UK’s chalk grassland lies within the North Wessex Downs, but this habitat has declined by almost a third in recent decades and surviving fragments are increasingly isolated. Restoring and reconnecting these landscapes is therefore a vital priority for nature recovery.

Moor Copse Nature Reserve near Reading is an ancient woodland with the River Pang running through it. The Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) is an important habitat for rare and endangered species such as the Dormouse. Ash Dieback was causing safety issues – preventing woodland management such as coppicing from being carried out, and putting these species at risk. The Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) completed Ash works and trained volunteers, enabling woodland management to restart and creating new habitats in ‘veteranised’ trees.

Working with Action for the River Kennet (ARK), the Benham Estate restored 2.7km of rare chalk stream habitat, wet woodland and wet meadows on the river Kennet SSSI. The capital works – repairing the natural form and function of the river – included removing barriers to fish passage, restoring spawning habitat for brown trout and reconnecting the river to the flood plain in order to re-wet areas of wet meadow and woodland. This restores geomorphological conditions enabling macrophyte and invertebrate species to recolonise. The project also enabled access opportunities to parts of the Kennet not normally open to the public, hosting training, volunteering and guided walks.

Three fields at Earth Trust have been converted to demonstrate innovative, regenerative, land management best practice, showing how food production can successfully and beneficially integrate with species recovery. Around 50% of the North Wessex Downs National Landscape is arable and this approach could make vast areas wildlife-friendly for farmland birds, insects, amphibians, reptiles and plants.