The amazing generosity through our Big Give campaign has just about sunk in, and we couldn’t be more grateful, writes our Conservation Manager, Will Dartnell. Thanks to your support, we’re now busily working behind the scenes to get the project underway. It will be a little while before you see practical work happening on the ground as we’re currently focused on crucial baseline surveys and data collection.  

To make sure our conservation work is as effective as possible, we need to understand exactly what’s already present on site. That means remapping all the Lowland Acid Grassland (LAG) and surrounding habitats. This will help us target our efforts in the areas where we can have the greatest impact in restoring LAG. 

As part of this, we’ll be digging trial soil pits and carrying out pH testing at different depths to determine where the soil conditions support the establishment of acid grassland, specifically where the pH sits between 4.0 and 5.5. 

As always, we plan to involve plenty of volunteers, particularly in the more sensitive areas of acid grassland, such as around the Yellow Meadow Ant hills. Alongside this, we’ll be constructing a variety of habitat features such as hibernacula, and bee and butterfly banks, helping to support and enhance biodiversity across the site. 

We’re planning to spread the work over several years. This phased approach will allow us to monitor how different areas respond to various interventions, adjusting and improving along the way. Our goal is to ensure that any changes happen gradually rather than suddenly.  

We’re excited to share more updates as the project progresses!   

Published on: 8 July 2025