South Downs View - South Downs National Park Authority

caring for the national parkViews of aVolunteer RangerWhile the National Park only became operational on 1st April2011 a team of hard working volunteer rangers have been outand about across the South Downs for 30 years.Volunteers hard at workFifteen dedicated teams madeup of 300 volunteers are outin the National Park come rain,shine or snow, working closelywith the National Park rangers.In the year from 1 April 2011–30 March 2012 alone, theygave more than 5,300 days oftheir time, helping to lay 1,000metres of hedgerow and clearextensive areas of scrub torestore ancient chalk grassland.Marilyn Marchant has been avolunteer ranger in the South Downsfor nearly four years. Over the lastyear she has given more than 40 daysof her time, working mainly in the areabetween Lewes and Shoreham.“I first got involved in volunteering asI wanted to have more time for myselfand to get out on the beautiful SouthDowns. As well as the opportunityto learn new skills and meet newpeople, the physical work involved involunteering really appealed to me.To spend some time every week inthe great outdoors surrounded bythe amazing and diverse landscape ofthe South Downs has really been lifechanging for me.There is a great social elementto volunteering and I have had theopportunity to meet a wide rangeof like-minded people from differentbackgrounds, all of whom bring theirown unique skills and expertise, as wellas fun, to the team.I have had the chance to learn a greatmany new skills while working as avolunteer and there are regular trainingcourses taking place. In addition to ourinitial four-day training sessions I havebenefitted from off road and defensivedriving courses and hedge laying. Wealso learn how to safely handle themany tools used out in the countryside.As well as the practical lessons in landKey achievementsin the last year:1000 metres of hedgerow hasbeen laid by rangers, students andvolunteers supporting rural skills,landscape and biodiversity.70 – Access has been improvedto over 70 hectares of open accessland.5 hectares of stump clearanceon Chapel Common for heathlandmaintenance.50% – Extensive scrubclearance to help restore ancientchalk grassland sites, 50% of whichwas carried out by volunteers.management I have also discoveredlots about the landscape of the SouthDowns and how accessible and diverseit is.I work every Thursday as a volunteerranger and each week is different.Depending on the time of year wecould be carrying out scrub clearance,coppicing or processing trees that havecome down or need to be cleared. Thework can be very demanding – whoneeds to go to a gym?! One of myfavourite tasks is hedge laying, whichinvolves the clearing out of rubbishand thinning the existing hedging,cutting back and using binders andstakes collected from coppicing. Thework not only assists in the effectiveland management of the NationalOur rangers at workPark but also has a beneficial effect onbiodiversity.Volunteering in the South DownsNational Park gives me such a buzz.Discovering new places off the beatentrack, working with new friendsand feeling like I have really made adifference each week…I have definitelycaught the bug and will never lookback!”If you would like to find out moreabout becoming a volunteer with theSouth Downs National Park Authority,please visit: www.southdowns.gov.uk/get-involved/volunteeringThere are four area ranger teams based across the South Downs, all of whichprovide an important link between visitors, local people and the NationalPark Authority. Not only do our rangers use their local area knowledge toencourage the public to enjoy the National Park and understand more aboutthe landscape, they also work hard to enhance and protect the National Parkfor future generations.Over the past year their work has supported:• communities to manage and improve their local environments throughprojects such as enhancing village ponds, creating wildflower areas, meadowmanagement and hedge laying;• the protection and maintenance of important archaeological features suchas the Lynchets at Jevington, Rackham Bank near Arundel, burial mounds atGallows Hill in Graffham and Iping Common and an archaeological survey ofearthworks in the ancient woodland at Blendworth;• clearance of invasive scrub, improving habitats and encouraging wildlifeat many Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and county wildlife sitesacross the National Park;• improving access to the National Park such as replacing stiles with 23kissing gates to improve access on popular walking routes at Butser Hill,Rowlands Castle and near East Meon; and• protection for specific endangered native species such as the natterjacktoad, barn owl and the Duke of Burgundy butterfly.14south downs Viewwww.southdowns.gov.uk