New move to restore heathland

Around 60 local councillors and officers of conservation organisations joined author Chris Howkins at Ashdown Forest to launch the 1.3 million, five-year Weald Heathland Initiative (WHI) .

Weald heathlands are an important international habitat for wildlife, such as birds and butterflies. Many thousands of countryside visitors also enjoy leisure activities among the scenery and solitude of heathlands.

WHI works in partnership with local land owners, community groups, volunteers, residents and visitors. The initiative will re-create, restore and sustainably manage 1,500 hectares of heathland in the High Weald AONB. The Heritage Lottery Fund, English Nature, High Weald AONB Unit, and several local organisations support WHI.

Work is planned at 21 sites in Sussex and Kent. Public sites include Ashdown Forest, Chailey Common and Southborough Common. Many smaller sites are used and valued by local communities.

Two heathland project officers offer expert advice, training and grants towards management work, and help to develop and market heathland products. Restoration work includes scrub clearance, bracken control, woodland ride widening, and heather cutting and seeding.

Project officer Richard Allum said cattle, sheep or pony grazing is important to managing heathlands. The initiative will introduce animals to some sites but only after extensive consultation with, and agreement by, local communities.

To launch WHI, Sir Geoffrey Johnson Smith, president of the High Weald AONB, symbolically felled a small birch tree at Wych Cross.

Cllr Tony Reid, deputy leader of the county council, and a forest resident, welcomed WHI.

He emphasised how important it was for WHI to do work on the ground that makes a real difference to the quality of life of both people and wildlife.

Chris Howkins, author of Heathland Harvest, explained the historical relationship between people and heathlands over many centuries. He described how peasants used their intimate heathland knowledge to provide a product every day of the year for the lords of Weald manors, as well as a surplus to trade in nearby towns and villages.

Heathlands supplied food, drink, fuel, housing materials, medicines and supplies for such cottage craft industries as broom-making. In the 19th century, just six heathland plants provided all the raw ingredients for all of the nation s soaps, detergents and wool dyes, Mr Howkins added.

It is only in our lifetime that we have stopped using heathland as a living, working and sustainable resource, he said. With a little imagination, we could make nature and industry work together again. We import potash from Canada to fertilise gardens. The world s richest source of potash is bracken, which has to be cleared from heathlands and burned. If power stations burned bracken for energy and sold the ash to garden centres, big business would be conserving a threatened habitat and providing sustainable electricity.

WHI is managed by a steering group of partner organisations, all expert in both project and heathland management, and working to a business plan.

Overall responsibility rests with the High Weald AONB Unit, the team that sources and provides advice, expertise and guidance to care for the area.