Results
Results for the Foxbury Plantation have now been published.
Foxbury – National Trust
Foxbury is a 150 hectare area of conservation on the edge of East Wellow and adjacent to our Bramshaw Commons. Acquired in 2005 through Grantscape funding, the site which was once a commercial conifer plantation is gradually being returned to the heathland habitat it once was. Foxbury went through extensive timber extraction as its ownership changed hands. The site was inherited as a vast area of undulating landscape; of remnant seed bed; of areas of retained birch and pine; and of the once dense understorey of Rhododendron. Today Foxbury is halfway through its initial funding and the changes continue year on year. Stands of birch and pine remain; rhododendron clearance is at 90%; natural regeneration of the seed bed and heather is already underway and the wildlife you would expect to see is slowly returning.
Foxbury’s open areas of heathland restoration are grazed with a herd of belted Galloways. The cattle help keep the encroaching scrub and grasses at bay, and also trample thick bracken stands, in order to allow the developing heather to establish. National Trust rangers and volunteers undertake seasonal management such as Rhododendron and birch removal, bracken herbicide application and hedge cutting. As well as lowland heathland, native broadleaf woodland is also being re-established at Foxbury. Volunteers planted over 3500 English oak, sweet chestnut and common alder saplings in the first year, the first of a 5 year project which will see planting of 26 hectares of Foxbury with around 20,000 trees.
A butterfly transect running from Half Moon common into Foxbury has been set up and an array of species have been recorded over the spring and summer. As the heather communities develop over the coming years, an influx of Silver-Studded Blue butterflies (our specialist heathland species) is expected. The transect has been laid out to take in a selection of developing habitats: open heathland, woodland edges and woodland rides.
The National Trust has kindly given us permission to use this area for orienteering. We hope you can join us for what will be an exciting event in a new area – an event which is also celebrating 50 years of the South West Orienteering Association!