South Downs View - South Downs National Park Authority

partnership workingDownland slopes near Sullington © Anne PurkissWorking together to saveprecious chalk downlandEarlier this year we announceda new partnership, whichbrings together farmers,conservationists, nongovernmentalorganisations(NGOs), community groups,government bodies, researchorganisations and watercompanies, for a new £3million pound project, knownas South Downs Way Ahead.The partnership consists of 29organisations working together tosafeguard endangered chalk downlandin the South Downs area while alsoconnecting local communities with thelandscape. The project was selectedas one of 12 trailblazing projects topioneer the Government’s new NatureImprovement Area (NIA) scheme. Indoing so it has been awarded £608,000in government funding from theSecretary of State for the Environment.Supported by the Departmentfor Environment, Food and RuralAffairs (DEFRA), the Department forCommunities and Local Government,the Environment Agency, the ForestryCommission and Natural England, theNIA scheme will operate over threeyears from 2012 to 2015. Each ofthe chosen 12 NIA schemes coversa different landscape, from the urbanareas of Birmingham and the BlackCountry to the rivers and woods ofNorth Devon, as well as our own chalkdownland.Only an estimated 4% of the totalarea of the National Park is pristinechalk download and it is recognisedinternationally as an important andendangered habitat. Not only is chalkdownland vital to the survival of rareand endangered wildlife it is also reliedon by millions of people in the areato provide clean drinking water and avaluable green space. However, theseareas are fragmented and the speciesProtecting the Duke ofBurgundy butterflyGreyfriars Farm in Storrington has been workingwith the South Downs National Park Authorityand Butterfly Conservation on a project toencourage the spread of threatened chalkdownland species, such as the rare Duke ofBurgundy butterfly.“Through working in partnership with theNational Park and conservationists we have beenable to introduce new methods of grasslandmanagement to our land in order to create anenvironment to help butterfly species colonise thearea,” says Mark of Greyfriars Farm.supported are increasingly under threatdue to the decreasing size and isolationof habitats.“Chalk downland is often referred toas the European equivalent of tropicalrainforest because its wildlife is sorich and diverse,” says Emily Brennan,Biodiversity Strategy Lead at the SouthDowns National Park Authority. “TheNIA project aims to enhance, expandand reconnect these separated areas ofchalk grassland in the SouthDowns through workingwith local landowners andcommunities.”Neil Hulme of ButterflyConservation comments: “Chalkdownland managed in a particularway is vital for the survival of rarespecies such as the Duke of Burgundybutterfly. Numbers on the South Downs havebeen in decline for decades but small andisolated populations still survive, and we hopeto encourage their spread along the escarpmentbetween Chantry Farm at Storrington andChanctonbury Ring.The level of co-operation between so manydiverse parties has been amazing. Through workingtogether we have been able to identify the precisehabitat requirements of the Duke of Burgundyand deliver focused efforts to meet its particularneeds.”The project will cover a onekilometre wide corridor along the lineof the South Downs Way NationalTrail, concentrating on five focal areas:Winchester, Harting and Midhurst,Worthing, Brighton, Hove and Lewes,and Eastbourne. The project will extendinto the urban area of Brighton andHove via its Green Network. The SouthDowns Way trail naturally follows theline of the iconic chalk downland scarpand links 19 chalk grassland Sites ofSpecial Scientific Interest (SSSIs), whichare nationally protected sites. In total,the extensive project will cover an areaof just under 42,000 hectares.At Greyfriars Farm, itwas decided that thebest course of actionwas to introducecattle grazing tocertain areas of land.”Mark explains: “Unlike sheep, the grazingaction of our cattle creates a better environmentfor some types of butterfly, enabling them toreconnect and thrive. Meanwhile in other areas wehave worked to control invasive scrub.”Where the habitat management is right itis remarkable how rapidly populations canbuild,” adds Neil. “There are also many otherbeneficiaries of this type of work, including otheruncommon species such as the Dingy Skipperbutterfly and numerous downland plants.”4south downs Viewwww.southdowns.gov.ukSt. Catherine’s Hill, Winchester (Courtesy of Winchester