South Downs conservation initiative reaches halfway point

A goal to improve habitats and boost wildlife diversity across the South Downs is nearly halfway complete.

In 2021, the South Downs National Park set a goal of transforming 13,000 ha into habitat for wildlife by 2030. Earlier this year, a number of environmental initiatives across the South Downs in Sussex and Hampshire received a share of more than £130,000 in grants.

A total of 6,082 ha has so far been created or improved to help nature thrive. Tim Slaney, interim chief executive of the park, said it was "wonderful" to be reaching the halfway mark and he was "excited" about what could be achieved in the rest of this decade.

The South Downs is the newest national park in Britain (Alan Jack).

UK's newest national park

The South Downs National Park, which stretches from Winchester in Hampshire to Eastbourne in East Sussex, is the newest of the UK's national parks, having come into being in March 2010.

The work has included planting almost 50,000 trees, adding more than 100 ha of wildflowers, planting hedges, restoring ponds and improving rare habitats such as chalk grassland and lowland heath.

Some of the land, including on farms and large estates, has been formally secured for nature through planning agreements for biodiversity net gain.

Restoring habitats

The national park said it was working on more than 350 different projects with its partners around nature recovery, including new wildflower meadows, hedgerows, wetlands, heathlands, woodlands and chalk grasslands.

Mr Slaney said: "We want nature to thrive everywhere for everyone, not only for biodiversity bouncing back but also people's health and wellbeing. National parks can, and should, be the nation's nature recovery hubs and we've proved that we can do it and do it well."

In June, Sussex's first Cirl Bunting this century was found on the South Downs.