Clear up helps rare plants

By County Press Reporter

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Tennyson Down being cleared of thorny scrub.

A TEAM of volunteers and wardens have helped clear an important grassland habitat over recent weeks.

National Trust Wardens, contractors and volunteers have been working at Tennyson Down to remove scrub and trees from the area, recognised nationally for its importance as a chalk grassland. During the early 1900s the whole down was open grassland, kept open and scrub-free by grazing animals.

The decline in grazing livestock on the down and a drop in rabbit numbers due to disease led to a rapid spread of thorny scrubland and tree growth.

That meant rare and unusual chalkland plants and insects could only grow on the narrow tops of the down, which is heavily trampled by walkers.

The work was partly funded by Natural England and it is hoped that, combined with the re-introduction of grazing cattle, more open chalk grassland areas will be created, said National Trust spokeswoman Heather Bradshaw.