The Purbeck Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP)
identifies 10 habitats that are: characteristic of Purbeck, have
suffered high local rates of decline, are now locally rare,
threatened or distinctive and are important for key species.
Lowland wet grassland is one of these habitats. A target was set in
1998 to increase the wildlife interest on 25% of the lowland wet
grassland in Purbeck by 2005.
The Heritage Lottery funded Purbeck Keystone
Project, with the help of financial input from the Environment
Agency and Natural England’s Countryside Stewardship Scheme, and
the support of three local farmers, has completed water-level
management works costing a total of just under £60,000 at three
farms on the Frome Valley in Purbeck. These will create conditions
suitable for over-wintering wading birds and waterfowl and
encourage the return of breeding waders to the Frome Valley.
At the three farms, sluices have been
installed to regulate the water levels in the ditches to make the
fields wetter at key times of year, especially in the spring and
early summer. Several of the sluices are made of brick walls
which line the ditch banks between which are mounted steel plates
that can be raised or lowered to regulate the flow of water in the
ditches. Some of these new sluices are copies of old sluices, the
originals of which were cast in foundries in Dorchester. The new
structures will allow a return to active control of water levels on
the floodplain grasslands of the Frome valley, a practice that was
once widespread but has occurred very little for many decades.
It is hoped that by improving the ability to
control the wetness of the fields, conditions can be created which
will encourage over-wintering wading birds and waterfowl to visit
the farms more than they currently do, and allow some locally rare
species such as Lapwing, Redshank and Snipe to be able to return as
breeding birds
The works have now been completed at Priory
Farm at East Holme, and at Manor Farm and Bindon Farm at Wool. A
study looking at the feasibility of implementing similar schemes on
three other farms between Wareham and Wool is underway.
Richard Caldow, Biodiversity Officer for the
Purbeck Keystone Project said: “Over recent decades there has been
a significant decline in the number of breeding waders on lowland
wet grassland in many parts of the UK. These declines have been
linked to intensification of agriculture and in particular to
improved drainage of wet grasslands. The water-level management
schemes that we have helped to implement on local farms will
hopefully create the right conditions for these wetland birds and
will help them to recover from the very low numbers that we see in
Purbeck today.”
Stephen Goldsack of Priory Farm said: “I look
forward to the challenge of continuing to operate a viable farming
business while improving the wildlife interest on my farm. It will
be very pleasing to be able to achieve both goals”.
The engineering works were carried out by one
of the UK’s foremost environmental contracting companies - Alaska
Environmental Contracting, which is based at Stokeford.
The Keystone Project is now looking for
volunteer(s) to undertake a programme of monitoring of the ditch
water-levels, field wetness and bird numbers on the three farms
over the coming months.
A report on the results of recent surveys of
the over-wintering waders and waterfowl in the Frome valley can be
downloaded from the Purbeck Keystone Project web-site at:
http://www.purbeck.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=10312
A repeat series of surveys of the wetland
birds along the whole valley between Wareham and Moreton is also
taking place each month this winter.
Those interested in taking part in either
monitoring programme, or simply wishing to find out more about the
project should contact the Purbeck Keystone Project on 01929
557336.