Page 1 of 9
Riddlesdown Residents
From: "Coulsdon Commons"
The latest news from the Coulsdon Commons team View this email in your browser
Coulsdon Commons e-News Issue 35, February 2014
Welcome
Welcome to the Coulsdon Commons e-Newsletter covering Coulsdon Common, Farthing Downs and New Hill, Kenley Common and Riddlesdown. The City of London Corporation has seven open spaces in South London and Surrey covered by three charities: Ashtead Common, Coulsdon Commons and West Wickham Commons. Each charity has its own e-Newsletter and you can now select the news that you want to receive .
Events
Saturday 7 February @Riddlesdown: Bird watching on Riddlesdown, 10:00am - 11:30am Join expert Nicola and Ranger Matt on an informative guided walk across Riddlesdown listening out for our regular and some unusual visitors. Perfect for beginners who want to learn more about their natural environment. Wrap up as we’ll be making plenty of stops on this gentle hour and a half walk. No dogs please. Meet at Riddlesdown car park. Wear sensible footwear and waterproofs if wet.
Wednesday 18 and Thursday 19 February @Farthing Downs: Star gazing for beginners, 8:00pm - 9:00pm Navigate your way around the winter night sky and discover the wonders of the universe. Meet at Farthing
02/02/2015 Page 2 of 9
Downs car park. Check that it’s clear before setting out as we won’t see anything if it’s cloudy! Bring binoculars, if you have them, and a torch and wear warm, wind-proof clothing.
Sunday 22 February @Kenley Common: Introduction to Kenley Common World War II heritage, 10:00am - 12:00noon Join Kenley Rangers on a guided walk around Kenley Common's World War II airfield. Learn about the airfield's past, the important role it played in the Battle of Britain and the plans to preserve it for the future. Booking essential . Wear sensible footwear and waterproofs if wet.
Saturday 28 February @Coulsdon Commons: Walk the Commons with a guide from the past, 9:15am - 1:00pm A 6.5km (4 mile) gentle paced guided walk over Farthing Downs, New Hill, Old Coulsdon and Kenley Common following Walker Miles’ 100 year old walking guide. Find out who he was and what he did. START at Coulsdon South station and FINISH at Whyteleafe station.
Buy a train ticket at Whyteleafe to return to the starting point (trains leave every 30 minutes, change at Purley – total journey time 36 minutes). Meet at Coulsdon South station . Wear walking boots suitable for some steep slippery paths and bring food for a mid morning break (we pass a bakery in Old Coulsdon) or for lunch on the train back.
For further information: Telephone 01372 279083 or email [email protected] Find out more about the City of London and its open spaces at: www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/citycommons
Cow and young calf on New Hill in a previous year
02/02/2015 Page 3 of 9
Our calves born at Epping Forest
The first calves have been born at their winter housing, a City of London farm in Epping Forest . As the majority of our grazing is done in the summer and autumn months, we take off the larger heard of breeding cattle through the winter and early spring and send them to their winter quarters where they are kept inside to calve and are looked after along side the cattle owned by Epping Forest. It might sound like a long way to travel, however one quick trip in a cattle lorry is all it takes. This consolidation of assets is a great way of saving precious time and money and means Rangers back here can focus on the remaining animals and the rest of the challenges winter brings! We look forward to having the latest additions to the heard with us by April or May, depending on ground conditions and what sort of a growing year we have!
A welcome visit from Natural England
Conservation Ranger Andrew Scott and Livestock Ranger Luke Ellis met with our new Natural England area advisor this month. Jane Sevenoaks (seen here at Riddlesdown) came for a site visit, to get to know the sites she has responsibility for and to talk about specific issues and objectives on the Cousldon Commons. Jane was particularly keen to visit the Sites of Special Scientific Interest, or SSSI’s. Riddlesdown Common was designated as a SSSI for its ‘largest single expanse of long- established calcareous scrub in Greater London and also for its herb-rich grassland’ and Farthing Downs for having the ‘most extensive area of semi-natural downland habitats remaining in Greater London'.
The City of London participate in several grant schemes run by Natural England through the Rural Payments Agency and we therefore have all of our management plans and work programmes approved by advisors like Jane. We have specific agreements in place about how we will achieve our work within agreed timescales, focusing in on fine details about each individual Common.
02/02/2015 Page 4 of 9
Work experience student joins Rangers
Rangers were joined by George Dunford who came back to work on the Coulsdon Commons for further work experience as part of his Animal Management Course at Merrist Wood College, Guildford. George’s experience included working alongside our regular volunteer groups and the Riddlesdown Collegiate, moving and treating livestock and undertaking site audits.
02/02/2015 Page 5 of 9
Chalk grassland restoration on Kenley Common
The Kenley Common volunteers and Rangers have been clearing an area of secondary woodland at the bottom of Hilltop field. The removal of trees will let in more light and encourage this area to return to chalk grassland. The arisings from the clearance work have been graded out into five metre lengths to be sold for fire wood and the tree tops have been burnt on a fire platform. Removing the trees and their timber removes nutrients from the grassland, leaving a thin soil structure which is nutrient poor. Specialised plants and grasses that prefer the nutrient poor soils thrive on these steep slopes and provide food and shelter for a wide variety of animals – a great habitat for butterflies. This landscape was once a common sight along the hills of the North Downs but the decline in sheep farming and the rise of residential development has marginalised this great habitat.
02/02/2015 Page 6 of 9
Sparrow Hatch Forestry
Contractors are still working across the sites undertaking this winter’s scrub management. They have recently been working in Riddlesdown Quarry and on Farthing Downs and New Hill. They are coming to the end of their contract and will have all of the work finished by the end of February. Follow up work will include treating or removing stumps, removing timber, spreading wood chip produced on horse rides and final tidy up work with our mulching tractor mowers.
Coulsdon Common Volunteers complete coppicing
Volunteers were again working along the pipe track on Coulsdon Common, finishing off a coppice area which is in our winter work programme. Coppicing is a traditional way of managing the woodland, cutting smaller fast growing species for wood products, but also provides a fantastic habitat for wildlife and ground flora. By leaving larger mature trees such as oak and cherry in this particular area, a dappled shade effect is created on the woodland floor which is perfect for the herb layer and the regeneration of the cut hazel.
Record number of volunteers at New Hill
This month saw what might be record numbers of volunteers out on New Hill. Our long serving friends have recently been joined by several students undertaking their Duke of Edinburgh Award plus their committed parents! To achieve the Duke of Edinburgh Award, students must dedicate a certain amount of time to volunteering in their local community. Getting outside to undertake conservation work with the City of London is a great way of doing this and enables students to learn new skills, gain knowledge about
02/02/2015 Page 7 of 9
habitat management and get some exercise all at the same time.
Creating glades and protecting veteran trees at Riddlesdown
The Riddlesdown volunteers were out in force this month. Despite the rain, we had a BBQ to celebrate the New Year and to thank the regular volunteers for the tremendous work they do on the Common. This month we have tackled the holly in a section of ancient woodland known as Coombes Wood, clearing new glades and opening up areas around veteran beech and oak trees. This extra light will encourage the woodland flora and new growth from the other shrubs. Interestingly, these warm glades actually encourage more birds into the woodland to feed, much like a garden does. Riddlesdown Collegiate’s 12 year olds were also a big help in the wood, helping to create a new path around a stunning veteran beech that was starting to suffer root damage. This new path, lined with cut holly, avoids the roots of the beech and will hopefully help the tree’s long term health. This cut holly will also make a great habitat for nesting birds in the future. Next month we will be finishing off the Butterfly Glade extension ready for grazing in April.
Facebook and Twitter
If you are an avid user of social media you will be pleased to know that our pages and feeds are back online!
If you would like to follow or like us you can do so by clicking on the logos below.
Facebook Twitter Website
Copyright © 2014 City of London Corporation All rights reserved.
02/02/2015 Page 8 of 9
Our mailing address is: City of London Corporation Ashtead Estate Office Woodfield Road Ashtead Surrey KT21 2DU unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences
02/02/2015 Page 9 of 9
02/02/2015