Spring/Summer 2008 - Ashdown Forest

News and UpdatesVolunteer work in the Woodland Garden atChelwood Vachery has continued throughoutthe winter. Most of the invasive rhododendron( ponticum)has now gone, as well as densemasses of saplings. The opening up of theground layer has encouraged the SussexOrnithological Society to put up nest boxesDiary Datesfor redstarts and the Sussex Garden Trust hasprovided funding in recognition of thehistoric interest of the area. Like the rest ofthe Forest managed by the Conservators,the Garden is open at all times. Althoughrestoration work is still incomplete,a summer visit is strongly recommended.Don’t forget to visit the website at www.ashdownforest.org to keep fully up to date on everything that is happening,but here are a few dates for your diary and we hope to see you during the summer.Thursday 24th April - War exhibition opens at the Centre and continues throughout the summer.Monday 26th May (Bank Holiday) - Sheep day at the Forest Centre including a demonstration of shearing of the Hebridean flock.FRIENDS DIARY DATESSunday 27th April - Bird walks - 5.00 a.m. for the “dawn chorus walk” from the Forest Centre car park and 9.00 a.m. from Long car park.Wednesday 28th May - “Bats of Sussex”- talk by Jenny Clark at 2.30 p.m. in the Ashdown Forest Centre Education Barn. Booking is essential.Sunday 1st June - Field walk at Pippingford Park, Nutley. A chance not only to see the wildlife, but also the ironworks, pillow mounds andWorld War II earthworks. Meet at 2.30 at Millbrook East car park. Strong boots and walking sticks are advisable.Tuesday 17th June - Nightjar walk - meet at 8.30 p.m. in Long car park, to join members of the Ashdown Forest Bird Group.These events are free to Friends or £5 for non-members. You can, of course join on the day. All events are likely to be over-subscribed, so booking is essential.For more details, contact Pat Arnold at the Friends office on 01892 611414 or e-mail at ashdownfriends@aol.comTHE CONSERVATORS OF ASHDOWN FORESTAshdown Forest Centre, Wych Cross, Forest Row, East Sussex RH18 5JPT: 01342 823583 E: conservators@ashdownforest.orgwww.ashdownforest.orgWant to help? Contact us!How you can helpBECOME A FRIEND OF ASHDOWN FORESTAnyone interested in helping preserve the Forest’srich environment should consider becoming a Friend.Support from Friends has contributed to the raising offunds for essential items of capital expenditure and, in2007, five acres of land as well. As you see from thediary dates, Friends enjoy organised meetings, talksand walks to encourage conservation and the peacefulenjoyment of the Forest. Simply contact us for anapplication form, or download it from the Friendswebsite www.friendsofashdownforest.co.uk.BECOME A VOLUNTEERWe need all the help we can get in order to look after thisunique landscape and our wonderful team of volunteershelp run the Information Barn, assist Rangers atweekends, do practical tasks such as clearingrhododendron and paths, help with wildlife surveysand generally get involved. So, if you would like toget involved in any way, please get in touch.All ages welcome!Editorial: Paul Cooper, forest.marketing@btinternet.comDesign and production: Studio 4, m.marriott@btconnect.comPhotography: Louise Amos, Roger Beal, Bill Buchanan,Paul Cooper, Chris Marrable and Hew Prendergast.Only printed on paper from sustainable forests.All paper used is FSC Certified and producedonly at mills holding ISO 14001 certification.We are grateful to Natural Englandfor supporting Ashdown Forest Life.ASHDOWN FORESTFor all those who care about the Forestwww.ashdownforest.orgISSUE NO. 5 SPRING/SUMMER 2008lifeSPRING AND SUMMERON THE FORESTSHEEP DAY SUCCESSWAR EXHIBITIONFIRE PREVENTIONNEWS AND UPDATESDIARY DATESHOW YOU CAN HELP

WelcomeCover: Setting off with the flockfrom the Forest CentreView from Box car park looking northInset: Common LizardCommon Cottongrass“Welcome to the latest issue of AshdownForest Life, which I know from commentsreceived, is proving useful and informative.It is just a part of our continuing effort tocommunicate with all those who care aboutthis unique environment and to keep youup to date on our progress. We are gratefulto Natural England for their help infunding various aspects of our work,including this publication.In this issue, you will find details of theprogress made at Chelwood Vachery andnews of the series of events organised at theForest Centre, the most recent of which, ourfirst “sheep day”, was a great success, witha wonderful turnout on a lovely, sunnyFebruary day.We also highlight some of the wildlife tolook out for this summer and look forward toa major exhibition on the fascinatingrelationship between Ashdown Forest andthe military, which still exists today.You will find features on the work of ourdedicated team of staff and volunteers,together with dates for your diary and waysin which you can help and feel even moreinvolved with our work in preserving theForest for future generations.Some things seem destined to remain aproblem however and the deer casualtiesthis winter have been just as bad as before.The Conservators are involved with two localinitiatives. The Ashdown Area Deer Grouphas recently helped East Sussex CountyCouncil to start a scheme to deal with injureddeer on roads round the county, while theAshdown Forest Villages Road SafetyPartnership, which involves ESCC, theEast Sussex Fire and Rescue Service, SussexPolice and local parishes, is continuing itscampaigns to slow traffic down on local roads.Don’t forget that you can keep up to datewith everything that is going on by visitingour website at www.ashdownforest.org.It is now getting 4000 visits each month andis constantly updated with news and viewsincluding, of course, our shepherd Louise’ssheep blog.I hope you continue to find Ashdown ForestLife interesting and that we see you duringthe summer at one of the many varied eventswe are organising.Together, we can succeed in preserving thiswonderful place.”Hew Prendergast CLERK TO THE CONSERVATORS“You never knowwhat you might find ”Spring and Summer on the ForestSpring and summer are the busiest times on the Forest and when visitors come for a walkor a picnic, it is sometimes all too easy to miss some of the flora and fauna that aboundon the heathland. Our programme of heathland conservation is as much about protectingthe creatures that thrive in this environment as anything else, and of course the two areinseparable. Without the heathland much of the wildlife simply cannot survive.VIVIPAROUS LIZARDThis reptile averages about 13 cm in lengthand, although variable in colour, often hasan olive green-brown body with markedridges and a yellowish belly. Very commonon the Forest’s heathland, where it is preyedupon by the adder, it’s usually seen as a bluron the vegetation at one’s feet or basking onsurfaces which absorb and retain heat, suchas tree stumps and large stones. As thename suggests, females give birth to fullyformed young in July or August. The firstlizards seen this year were in mid February.GREAT CRESTED NEWTThis is the largest of Britain’s three speciesof newts and the one most in decline, henceits special protection. The males are up to16 cm long and, in the breeding season,have a jagged crest along the back and abright orange underside. A survey this yearas part of the Higher Level Stewardshipprogramme is assessing in which of theForest’s numerous ponds they occur.Look out for them in the pond at theForest Centre.WOODLARKThe woodlark is smaller than a skylark andhas shorter wings and tail. The white marksabove the eyes meet on the nape of the neckand there are black and white markings onthe leading edge of the wings. Its preferredhabitat is heathland and also areas wheretrees have been felled, with the occasionaltall tree for a singing post. The male hasone of the finest bird songs in Britain, arepetitive, flute-like descending song which,delightfully, can sometimes even be heardin the middle of a balmy summer’s night onthe Forest. Here numbers of this species areincreasing quickly.COMMON COTTONGRASSThe tufts of what look like cotton woolblowing in the wind are, in fact, not cottonat all, but a type of sedge called cottongrass.The white “cotton” is made up of long,white hairs which help the seeds disperse.In the past, cottongrass was used for candlewicks, stuffing pillows and even dressingwounds. Although very common on thewet moors of northern and western Britain,it is restricted in the South East to theregion’s relatively few heathland sites,pre-eminent of which is Ashdown.Look out for it in damp ground.3

“I mustn't let them out of my sight! ”Sheep Day SuccessAs you know, last year we introduced a Hebridean flockto the Forest, together with their shepherd Louise Amos,as part of the Higher Level Stewardship programme.Because of the Foot and Mouth restrictionslast year, it is too early to gauge the successof this in terms of statistics proving that thegrazing positively affects the heathland,although there is plenty of evidenceelsewhere. We can report, however, thatalthough their favourite food obviouslydepends on availability at different times ofthe year, during the winter months they eatgorse, the lankier heather shoots and thefiner leaved grasses which grow amongstthe heather. In spring and summer they eatpurple moor-grass and tree seedlings, evensome green bracken too. This overall dietseems absolutely ideal to answer ourobjectives of managing the heathlandin an environmentally friendly way.In terms of public awareness and education,however, it has already proved to havebeen extremely worthwhile. To furthercommunicate with the public and explainour objectives, we held a “sheep day” in theFebruary half-term which was very wellattended, with 160 turning up for a walkwith Louise and her flock and also to visitthe Information Barn where there were lotsof sheep-related activities.Louise commented afterwards: “It was quiteoverwhelming and a wonderful event. I wasasked lots of questions and everyone seemedgenuinely excited to see the dogs and thesheep at work. Hopefully they will keep upto date by reading my blog on the websitewww.ashdownforest.org and learn moreabout how the sheep are managing theheathland in the traditional way,by just eating!”Wool and meat products from HeathlandHebridean, demonstrations from the SussexGuild of Spinners, Weavers and Dyers,sheep stories from East Sussex CountyLibrary Children’s Service and face painting,all added to the success of a great dayon the Forest.Tracy Buxton, who organised the event, isplanning another in May, when visitors willbe able to see lambs from Louise’s Hebrideanflock as well as demonstrations of shearing.Sianco, a working guest dog for the day,with the flock near the Forest CentreLouise answers questions on ‘sheep day’5

Below: World War II tank roadblocksnear Ellisons Pond car parkAshdown Forestand the Business of WarFew areas can have had the association with things militaryover such a sustained period of time. Over 2000 years,Ashdown Forest has been home to armies, a site forweapons manufacture and a place of testament to conflictand threat, at local, national or international level.Our exhibition, which opens on 24th Aprilat the Forest Centre, contains documents,photographs and artefacts covering from theIron Age up to the present day. It will be afascinating review for anyone interested inthis aspect of the history of the area.Alongside bullets, trip wires and smokegrenades, there is a map from 1793showing the deployment of 7000 troopsbetween Nutley and Duddleswell, extractsfrom a boy’s diary when the first V1 rocketpassed overhead and photographs andexplanations of the various lumps andbumps on the ground that so mystify visitors.Tinder dry heathlandcan burn very easilyBelow: Forest staff practising back burningFire Prevention/Back BurningUntil the 1960s, Forest commoners used to set theheathland alight in early spring, in order to get a flushof grass for their livestock. Today, the only officially startedfires are so-called “controlled back burns”. The essenceof this is to deprive a fire of fuel by setting alight thevegetation in its path. This controlled fire, usually besidea ride, barrier or path, works slowly upwind and meetsthe accidental fire being driven by the wind towards it.This year, staff practised this technique with crews fromEast Sussex Fire and Rescue Service, behind Long car parkon the main A22, in an area of old gorse, thus ensuringthat both staff and fire crews are better equipped to dealwith a major fire breaking out on the Forest.Anyone with any artefacts or mementoes iswelcome to add them to the exhibition!World War II tanksengaging in an armyexercise on the Forest“Uncontrolled Forest firesdevastate the heathlandand wildlife ”7