Over the last two months the volunteers have been hard at work clearing large rides of scrub out from the car park up to the Southern Fort. There a few reasons for this work – originally when the Southern fort was constructed this would have been a clear grass bank, to enable good views for the soldiers across the site. Over many years hawthorn and blackthorn has taken over forming a dense scrub barrier. In terms of wildlife value it is more beneficial to have a mix of scrub and grassland, the scrub providing cover and food for birds, the grassland being filled with the fantastic array of wildflowers that Berry Head’s limestone soils support. The edge of the two habitats create little pockets of warm sun spots perfect for basking lizard and snakes such as adders, and butterflies feed in these sheltered areas. Therefore we are opening out these areas for historic and nature conservation purposes. It will take a few years of cutting before some areas of the grassland are reinstated, but in the future we will have beautiful spreads of wildflowers through these clearings.
