Agenda item

To be presented by Nick Marriner, Chiltern Conservation Board. To provide an overview of the project funded by the Community Board in 2022/23.

Nick Marriner (NM), Chiltern Conservation Board (CCB) provided a presentation – appended to the minutes.

The key highlights from the presentation were as follows:

• NM thanked the Community Board for their support given to the project.
• The CCB were four years into a five year Lottery Heritage supported project.
• CCB had worked with local farms across the area and had identified how to support them with wildlife, plants and trees.
• More habitat and bigger habitat needed to make the connections between habitats and create islands for birds and butterflies.
• Farmland is the connecting piece between woodland and grass areas. A great deal of work had taken place to build up relationships with the farmers.
• There were 18 farms in the cluster.
• Advice had been given to farmers on how to improve their land to encourage the habitats.
• Hedgerows were a key point and this was the project supported by the Community Board.
• Approximately 25km of hedgerow had been created. A combination of planting, coppicing and fencing.
• There were three local farms in the North West Chilterns -  Little Horsenden, Old Callowdown and Beachdown Farm had benefitted from this project.
• Hedgerows were a successful way of capturing carbon.
• Callowdown Farm – Lodge Hill, a triple SI (Sites of Special, Scientific Interest). CCB worked with farmers in clearing the scrubland. This took approximately eight weeks to achieve a manageable state. Cattle grazing back on site to keep the scrubland under control. Site had been monitored for four years and CCB were now starting to see the ground improve and wild flowers growing. This was part of a 20 year project. Every area of the farm had improved it’s connectivity.
• Had been working with other organisations such as Chiltern Rangers, providing opportunities for volunteers to work on local projects aiding mental health.
• Worked with the Rothchilds Foundation on a project to help each farm to understand their carbon footprint.
• Survey work – approximately 250 volunteers had been trained to carry out volunteer wildlife surveys. Areas had been broken down into squares and each volunteer looked at species of plants and wildlife. This was carried out over a period of time to track changes.
• New Shoots was a group of young volunteers between 15 to 18 years of age, who were encouraged into conservation and carrying out basic surveys.

Question: Looking to the next five to 10 years, how integrated is the CCB with the SFI (Sustainable Farming Interest) to work directly with the farmers to help them plan?

Answer: Advice is given to turn farmers into studious SFI’s. Providing the evidence to the farmers proves that there is success through the Cluster group. An application had been submitted for landscape recovery, working across landowners which would allow a foundation to build on.

Question: Lodge Hill prevented a woodland from developing to allow cows to graze. Are woodlands a good thing?

Answer: Woodlands are great in the right place. From a biodiversity perspective it was good to have a mixed habitat. A scrubby edge and combined environment was good, not a mono culture.