Kingsdown Land Trust Annual Report 2021
(Reg. Number 1180482)
8[th] January 2022
Dorthe Bucknell has retired as a trustee and Richard Collins has volunteered to join us, so we remain with a total of four trustees. It is hoped that we can recruit further trustees from the local community as work progresses.
A small amount of clearing was carried out by the trustees at the beginning of 2021 and during that spring/summer surveys showed pyramidal orchids, oxeye daisies, thistles and teasels and various insects. Due to covid restrictions and avoiding cutting during nesting season, no further work was undertaken.
Following further discussions with Kent Wildlife Trust (KWT), the East Kent Downland Warden visited the site to advise on the best way to manage the land. She agreed that as much of the regrowth as possible should be cleared in order to return the site to chalk grassland which is an important habitat in east Kent and vital for a number of rare species. This would allow less invasive species such as orchids to push through and hopefully we will see some more diverse plants and insects eventually appearing.
A joint task day with volunteers from KWT has been arranged for February and a number of additional volunteers from the local community have also agreed to help. With this additional help it should be possible to clear the majority of the regrowth in one day. This will be a great start to the ongoing work and further clearing in late summer will help distribute any seeds present and to keep invasive species under control.
The trust has not accumulated any funds during this financial year and there has been no expenditure.