Countryside Stewardship
Throughout northern Europe the number of farm birds has declined dramatically over the last few decades. In Britain birds such as skylark, linnet and tree sparrow have declined so sharply they have been identified as Priorities for conservation in the Governments Biodiversity Action Plan.
One of the key methods of restoring populations of these birds is through Government grant schemes such as Countryside Stewardship and the new Entry Level and Higher Level Environmental Stewardship schemes that are replacing Countryside Stewardship.
As part of our project to restore Hastings Country Park and Fairlight Place Farm we have secured a ten year Countryside Stewardship Grant to help manage the farm under sustainable farming, to restore heathland on Warren Glen and to maintain healthy populations of farm birds such as skylark, linnet, tree sparrow and bullfinch.
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Arable
On the fields that will remain arable you will see the creation of wide arable field margins and headlands, beetle banks and wild bird seed sown areas.
The arable fields will be managed on rotation with spring sown crops, over winter stubble and set aside.
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Grazing
The main changes in management you will see are the introduction of light grazing on heathland and the conversion of previously arable fields to lightly grazed pasture.
To enable this to go ahead a large investment has been made in erecting new stock proof fencing throughout the farm and Warren Glen.
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Heathland Restoration
Due to the greater responsibility of landowners to keep Sites of Special Scientific Interest up to the conservation standard set by English Nature the cliff-top heathland at Warren Glen and Firehills needs to be restored.
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Warren Glen
At Warren Glen the heath will be grazed to restore acid grassland with patches of heather and gorse and the spread of bracken and the build up of bracken litter will be controlled.
Over the next few years you should see a reduction in the abundance of bracken and a increase in the abundance of wild flowers such as heath bedstraw, heath speedwell and tormentil.
The wild flowers provide a nectar source throughout the year for the many species of solitary bees that nest in the patches of bare ground and on the cliff face, some of these species are rare and scarce in Britain.
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Firehills
On the Firehills bracken will be controlled by hand and gorse scrub will be cut on rotation to provide the ideal nesting and feeding habitat for Dartford warblers, stonechats and linnets.
For the latest news about the restoration project check out the conservation news section.
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Restoration Project Map
Click on the map for a larger view.
Download the restoration project poster (.pdf 603kb)
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Hastings Country Park
Restoration Project
