Ashford and Dover Volunteers - December update

• Charing Scouts have come out for a second session at Hothfield. After their first outing in the summer, we set up the site so that they could work independently, meeting up with them to organize tools, work location, site safety etc.

• Discovery of Candelabra fungi Artomyces pyxidatus at Hothfield. This species was thought extinct 100 years ago, but with a record appearing out of the blue in Suffolk in 2012.  

• We have received funding for access works on nature reserves in the Ashford Area. This will allow us to develop a strategy for working with mountain bikers in Ashford Warren, construct an all weather footpath at Hothfield and carry out habitat improvement / access improvement works on the SSSI.  

Both new and experienced volunteers made a major step forward in restoring an area of heathland owned by the Forestry Commission at Covert Wood in November. This former conifer plantation is a great spot for reptiles , including adder, and is one of the target areas of work for the High Downs Project, a National Grid funded initiative to improve the environment in the east of the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. A total of 54 volunteers cut and tree popped about half a hectare of birch scrub over 3 days. It was the first time volunteering for many, and the weather, location and baked potatoes for lunch all contributed to a great effort.

Mark Tuson, High Downs Project Officer, said, "This site really needed lots of hands to do the work that machinery can’t do, and by uprooting and cutting birch trees we are restoring heathland habitat sustainably. The next stage of management will be some fencing so that the site can be grazed by livestock."

The project has regular task days throughout the year in locations between Ashford, Canterbury and Folkestone, where volunteers can help with coppicing and other outdoor management tasks. Volunteers can also help with the checking livestock.