On Friday (24th February) I was delighted to hear that a bid for major funding of a Nature Improvement Area (NIA) project, linking chalk habitat along the South Downs Way between Winchester and Eastbourne, had been successful. As part of a team led by the South Downs National Park Authority, Dan Hoare and I have worked alongside other partner organisations in bringing together wide ranging aspects of this ambitious proposal. The £608,000 DEFRA grant will be supplemented by other lines of funding, to finance a c. £3 million plan to safeguard and enhance endangered chalk grassland and its flora and fauna, including butterflies and moths.
The South Downs National Park Authority (SDNPA) is yet to reach its first birthday, but BC Sussex has a long and close working relationship with many of its staff. As former employees of the South Downs Joint Committee (SDJC) they have provided the expertise and continuity necessary to give the SDNPA a flying start. The SDJC has always been incredibly helpful with butterfly-related projects, providing both financial support and hands-on help via their ever-willing staff and volunteer force. Under the new National Park banner this excellent relationship continues.
Butterflies will be very important in the monitoring process, with indicator species such as the Adonis, Chalkhill and Small Blues providing a measure of chalk habitat health, extent and connectivity. Other aspects of the NIA project focus on habitat creation for the Duke of Burgundy, complementing and extending the successful work done by the Sussex Branch in recent years. This further connects with the new BC national ‘Dukes on the Edge’ project which is now underway. It is gratifying to see such strong partnerships develop for the benefit of our rarer butterflies.
On Monday (27th February) I joined SDNPA personnel and others at Devil’s Dyke, where Lord Taylor of Holbeach cleared some scrub for the benefit of the assembled media. Unfortunately the Downs were shrouded in a thick mist, obscuring the wonderful views that can usually be enjoyed from here.
Emily Brennan, SDNPA’s Strategy Lead for Biodiversity, wrote on the South Downs National Park Forum (http://www.southdownsforum.ning.com) “We are delighted that the South Downs Way Ahead project, led by the South Downs National Park Authority, has been chosen by DEFRA as one of twelve trailblazing Nature Improvement Areas for England and awarded £608,000 in support.
South Downs Way Ahead will focus on protecting and enhancing South Downs chalk downland, which is vital to the survival of rare and endangered wildlife and is relied on by millions of people to provide clean drinking water and valuable green space. The project is made up of 28 partners including farmers, conservationists, NGOs, community groups, government bodies, research organisations and water companies, as well as the National Park Authority. We will be working together to join up areas of chalk downland along the famous South Downs Way National Trail.
This news has come just one month before the National Park celebrates its first birthday and really shows what can be achieved when people from across the South Downs join forces.
The project has five objectives:
Walk the Chalk: To broaden the South Downs Way National Trail as a semi-natural corridor and improve the natural qualities of the route.
Linking the Fragments: To achieve real improvements to the conservation and management of chalk grassland at the heart of the matrix of downland habitats.
Surface to Groundwater: To demonstrate the viability and benefits of an input based approach to the improvement of groundwater quality.
Town to Down: To assess and demonstrate the benefits of ecosystem services to urban populations.
Valuing the Chalk: To attribute environmental, economic and social values to the benefits and services provided by chalk downland.”
We will be asking all of our members and other recorders to make a special effort to record the ‘South Downs Blues’ (Adonis, Chalkhill and Small) in the future, as these iconic downland species have an important role to play in meeting the aims of this fantastic project.
Neil
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but really impressed 
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. Hope to catch up with you once the Dukes and PBFs are flying.