Coombe Down Project

c) Shelagh Wright

19 acres of chalk grassland we can restore ()

40 chalk grassland flowers per square metre ()

77,798 raised by you to help carry out this work ()

2024 works update

You may be aware that Kent Wildlife Trust have been carrying out conservation work on the hillsides at Coombe Down.

These hillsides would once have been open rolling grasslands, filled with wildflowers and butterflies. Over the last few decades, the hills have become dominated by scrub and the wildflowers and butterflies have slowly disappeared. The scrub is still important for nesting birds and insects, so the Kent Wildlife Trust want to restore the balance by creating open sunny spaces with plenty of patches of scrub too.

The most important part of this process is to restore the grazing that would have managed these grasslands for hundreds of years. We will be installing fencing to allow the animals to graze safely. At the same time, we will be putting in kissing gates to ensure continued access for local walkers.

We are also using big machines to get on site and clear areas of scrub. Most of this work has been completed, as we need to make sure we finish before birds start nesting in the spring.

The site may currently look muddy and messy; however, these areas will quickly be recolonised by various plant species as we go into the spring and summer months. This is a normal step in habitat management and the disturbed ground encourages colonisation of new plants.

We would love for you to get involved. Our livestock are checked by trained volunteers daily to ensure they are happy and healthy. If you’d like to join our volunteer task teams or volunteer as a livestock checker please contact: [email protected]

Public access to the site will remain. However please be aware that there may be heavy machinery operating and moving around the site whilst the works continue. If you have any questions regarding the works, please contact: [email protected]

Restoring Coombe Down

Kent Wildlife Trust bought Coombe Down in 2017 to secure the area as a nature reserve and improve the site for wildlife. The area was once a landscape of open chalk downland covered in wildflowers and was a haven for rare orchid and butterfly species. Now, many are on the brink of disappearing from the site.

With the help of Natural England, FiPL, and our supporters, we were able to soar past the £69,800 target. We are now putting our plans into action to restore this high value piece of chalk grassland.

Our aims

We want to restore Coombe Down to a mixture of open grassy slopes with thick scrub and a woodland edge. This will benefit chalk grassland species, nesting birds, and insect species, as well as creating a mosaic of habitats that will lead to a more resilient landscape to the impacts of the climate and nature crises.

We want to bring back species and processes that would naturally have been found at Coombe Down and can create wildlife abundance here again. For example, the rare frog orchid was last recorded in Kent at Coombe Down some 30 years ago, but we want to return it to these scenic slopes.

Wildflowers on Coombe Down - white cowslip, yellow thistles, and more.

Chalk grassland

Restoring chalk grassland is crucial in our vision to create a wilder Kent. Chalk grassland is Europe’s version of the rainforest; up to 40 species of flowering plants can be found in just one square metre of this rich habitat. Incredibly, 2.5% of the UK’s chalk grassland is found around Dover, so it is crucial that we protect our existing reserves and bring back other chalk grassland sites that have been neglected.

Since 2014, we have successfully purchased and restored both Old Park Hill and Nemo Down, and a new extension at Lydden Temple Ewell. Now, with your support, we are bringing back another beautiful chalk grassland site.

Works

Staff, contractors and volunteers are on site completing various essential works to restore this neglected site to its former glory. Initial works included removing dense areas of scrub to allow chalk grassland species, such as the Adonis blue and Chalkhill blue butterflies, to recover. Further work will consist of further scrub clearance, as well as fencing the boundary and water trough installation to prepare for the introduction of conservation grazers.

The importance of conservation grazing at Coombe Down

We will be introducing Highland cattle and Konik ponies to Coombe Down as crucial conservation grazers. These animals will play an important role in restoring the chalk downland habitat: by grazing these tough areas, wildflowers will be able to grow and recolonize the site, and grazing the scrubland will keep the grassland areas open.

Species we want to bring back to Coombe Down

Coombe down has a rich past, and thanks to your help, we are uncovering the thick scrub to bring back the valuable chalk grassland habitat.

This will create conditions that could see the return of species long lost to the Downs.

Find out more below:

Chough

The iconic Chough has been used on Canterbury’s coat of arms since 1380, having been taken from Thomas Becket’s coat of arms. Sadly it has long been extinct in Kent after destruction of it's habitat, and persecution.

As the only crow with a red bill and red legs, the all-black chough is easy to identify, but it's harder to spot.

The chough lives on short, grazed grassland and coastal heathland where it probes the ground with its long, red bill for insects, such as leatherjackets and beetle larvae. Acrobatic in flight, it has a 'chee-ow' call which is similar to, but louder than, the Jackdaw's. The female lays three to five eggs and both parents help to raise the chicks.

The chough is about 38-40 cm long, with a wingspan of 82cms and weighs 310 grams.

Choughs build nests in small colonies in crevices and fissures, on rock ledges and cliff faces, and even in abandoned buildings. The Chough is on the Red List for Birds and is a protected species. Until recently, there were only small coastal populations in Wales, Scotland, the Isle of Man and Cornwall. That is, until we reintroduced them to Dover in Kent!

Wart-Biter Cricket

The Wart-biter bush-cricket gets its unusual name from the Swedish practice of the 1700’s of allowing the cricket to bite warts from the skin. They are able to do this with their strong mouthparts.

Although this treatment is no longer in vogue, the name has stuck. The Wart-biter is actually omnivorous, feeding on a range of herbs and insects, including other grasshoppers.

Even though they have wings, Wart-biter’s normally move about by walking. They rarely fly as they are too heavy and their wings are not large enough; this makes them particularly vulnerable to predators.

Status

Historically the Wart-biter used to be widespread in southern England, but now it is considered one of Britain’s most endangered insects. It can only be found at five sites in the UK, one of which is our nearby Lydden Temple Ewell nature reserve. If we can restore Coombe Down, we aim to create a new population of wart-biters at Coombe Down.

Frog Orchid

The Frog Orchid is a short orchid, between 4-20 cm tall. Because it is a relatively small orchid, it can be easily shaded out by larger vegetation, so it is crucial that the surrounding grassland is well grazed.

Conversion of land to arable and general decline of well grazed chalk grassland saw a rapid decrease in frog orchid numbers in the South of England. Coombe Down is the last place in Kent that it was recorded, and we hope to bring it back to the slopes.

Get in touch

If you have any questions about the Coombe Down project, or would like to get involved as a Volunteer, please contact our volunteering team below.