Thanks to your incredible support of our Uncovering Coombe Down appeal, a late surge of donations saw us fly past the £69,800 target. We are now putting our plans into action to restore this high value piece of chalk grassland.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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. There are only small coastal populations in Wales, Scotland, the Isle of Man and Cornwall, but we are bringing them back to Dover.
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.
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.
If you have any questions about the Coombe Down project, or would like to get involved as a Volunteer, please contact Karen Weeks, Dover Area Warden.
Overlooking the English channel, the Capel-le-Fern reserve has great views of the chalk cliffs that gives the White Cliffs of Dover its name.
Purchased in 2023, this ancient woodland site sits on top of the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. With beautiful grassland valleys on one side, and the Forestry England woodland on the other Covert wood is part of wonderful wider landscape.
Quilters Wood Reserve is an area of ancient semi natural woodland and chalk grassland situated near Bridge, Canterbury.
The reserve runs along the scarp slope and consists of a mosaic of habitats from chalk grassland through scrub to woodland. Please note this reserve is not open to the public.
Located next to an industrial estate on the outskirts of Dover, it is hard to believe a nature reserve is there when driving through the estate.
The Culand Pits are a dramatic reminder of the role the cement industry played in shaping the landscape in the Medway Valley. The site is owned by Trenport Investments Ltd who fund the management.
