Natural England

The importance of York's heathlands for adders, nightjars and other rare Yorkshire wildlife was highlighted today at a national heathlands conference held in York (10th September).

Following an extensive five year project in the Vale of York, Natural England outlined just how crucial a role York’s heathlands play in the survival of rare Yorkshire wildlife. The area is dominated by the historical city, large arable crop fields and a sprinkling of pretty villages yet it is the little known heathland gems at Allerthorpe, Skipwith and Strensall Commons that have received special attention.

Natural England organised the conference and will share experience of the Heritage Lottery Fund project, which has helped to restore York’s lost heathland heritage and brought fantastic and rewarding results for wildlife and local communities.

Natural England’s Chief Scientist Tom Tew said; “Heathlands are vital for the future protection of our wildlife, helping us to adapt to a changing climate and for public enjoyment. As the projects around York have shown, we now need to build on these successes and continue to enhance and look after this important habitat. We look forward to continuing to work with partners and local communities to maintain these beautiful areas for all the benefits they can bring.” Heathland is wide open space covered by heather and gorse, which provides important habitat for some of our most threatened wildlife. These areas are often criss-crossed with a network of good pathways, which means they are popular places for a stroll especially in late summer when the heather is blooming purple.

Julian Small, heathland project officer at Natural England in York added; “Heathland is a man-made landscape. Places like Skipwith Common are older, larger than and just as important as York Minster. Under this Heritage Lottery Fund project, Natural England, with our partners, has been working closely with local communities to restore and learn more about these areas. We’re all really excited about the next stage and what we’ll unearth next. For now, we’d just encourage everyone to take a trip to one of these areas and experience the tranquillity and see the wildlife for themselves – you really do get a sense of stepping back in time.”

Case study - Wildlife success

The purple flowers of heather and the summer snow of cotton-grass once covered much of the Vale of York Hundreds of years of drainage and ploughing have left us with just few fragments of our ancient landscape, which had been disappearing faster than the rainforests. Natural England, the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, the Forestry Commission and the Ministry of Defence with local communities have restored areas equivalent to 900 football pitches by removing encroaching scrub and overgrown trees.

Exmoor ponies, Longhorn cattle and Hebridean sheep have also been used to graze the areas in a way that encourages the heather to regenerate. A number of rare species such as adders, nightjars and woodlarks have increased at Allerthorpe, Strensall and Skipwith.

Notes

Other case studies are available. These include super-sleuth communities carrying out archaeology to understand historic landscape and information about guided walks and leaflets. For interviews, stunning photographs of heaths and species like nightjar please contact Emma MacDonald at Natural England’s regional press office on 0113 2303533 or 07900 608073.

This is the 10th national heathlands conference, which this year is being held at the University of York over three days starting on the 9th September. It has been organised by Natural England, with support from the Joint Nature Conservation Committee and is aimed at those interested in finding out the latest developments in heathland management by sharing lessons learnt from projects across the country.

The five-year Restoring the Heaths of the Vale of York project, was supported by a £347,000 Heritage Lottery Fund grant. Its aim was for the five partner organisations to sensitively restore the open dry and wet heath habitat and recreate heathery areas in areas where they have been lost. It also had to promote greater public enjoyment of our Commons through nature trails, guided walks and events.

The Vale of York Heathland Project is a collaboration between Natural England, MOD Defence Estates, Forestry Commission, the Escrick Park Estate and the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust Tomorrow’s Heathland Heritage is an important conservation success story, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund and led by Natural England. A total of 25 heathland projects across the UK have now been supported with £13 million of lottery money, resulting in the recreation of over 2,000 hectares of lost heathland in the last five years. The benefits of this transformation are not just confined to heaths. The Heritage Lottery Fund’s investment in Tomorrow’s Heathland Heritage has levered in additional money – there have been 150 partners involved in the overall scheme. This partnership funding was initially predicted to be £4 million but has now swelled to £12 million, enabling many more projects to be accepted into the programme.

Using money raised through the National Lottery, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) sustains and transforms a wide range of heritage for present and future generations to take part in, learn from and enjoy. From museums, parks and historic places to archaeology, natural environment and cultural traditions, we invest in every part of our diverse heritage. HLF has supported more than 26,000 projects, allocating over £4billion across the UK. Website: www.hlf.org.uk. Natural England works for people, places and nature to conserve and enhance biodiversity, landscapes and wildlife in rural, urban, coastal and marine areas. We conserve and enhance the natural environment for its intrinsic value, the wellbeing and enjoyment of people, and the economic prosperity it brings. www.naturalengland.org.uk.