Events
GRAZING
11/10/11 12:36
If you’ve been to the Rifle Range or up on Pepperscoombe Bank recently you will have noticed that the Sussex Cattle are back onsite. They will be grazing here for the rest of the winter, then some will be moved up to the Steyning Coombe for a few months.
If you want to know more about our reasons for having them here then take a look at the “Livestock & Grazing” page.
If you want to know more about our reasons for having them here then take a look at the “Livestock & Grazing” page.
BUTTERFLY WALK
21/08/11 10:38
An amazing total of 64 eager butterfly hunters gathered together today for a guided walk led by Neil Hulme from Sussex Butterfly Conservation. Thankfully the weather was reasonably kind to us and there was enough sunshine to tempt out 8 Brown Hairstreaks for all of us to admire & photograph. In spite of the numbers of people, everyone had an opportunity to get a really good look at these small but lovely butterflies as they laid their eggs on the bullace & blackthorn, not only in our designated reserve area, but also around the perimeter of the Rifle Range, showing how important the whole site is for the species.
Photo by Neil Hulme
Many other butterflies were seen, including a beautiful Clouded Yellow, probably an immigrant from Europe.
Many thanks to Neil for, as usual, an extremely entertaining & informative morning. His account of the walk can be found here.
Photo by Neil Hulme
Many other butterflies were seen, including a beautiful Clouded Yellow, probably an immigrant from Europe.
Many thanks to Neil for, as usual, an extremely entertaining & informative morning. His account of the walk can be found here.
DISCOVERY DAYS 2011
19/07/11 18:07
160 twelve year olds from the Grammar School spent three days answering the question ‘what is special about the Steyning Downland Scheme’. Many local people volunteered their time to show the students the many different special aspects of the area: dog walkers, mountain bikers, archaeologists, pond specialists, SDS rangers, chalk grassland experts and a member of the Partridge Green Home Guard. Sussex Wildlife Trust, the South Downs National Park, A Rocha and the Neighbourhood Wardens all played a part as well. It was a wonderful collaboration of many different people’s expertise.
More information & photos on the Discovery Days page.
EXPLORE!
09/06/11 11:32
Explore!
Explore the Steyning Downland Scheme with a variety of free Sunday afternoon activities and walks
Led by local experts
2nd Sunday of the month 2 – 4pm
Meet at the old NTC hut off Mouse Lane
10th July: Herbs and Folklore
14th August: Bugs and Beasties
All welcome
More Information here
PONDS SURVEY
24/05/11 11:02
As part of our ongoing quest to find out as much as we can about the wildlife living on our site we are doing as many surveys as possible. Our chalk stream & ponds are a unique and valuable habitat and we have started an invertebrate survey to discover some of what we have in the beautifully clear water that flows from the springs.
This survey is being done by Sally Clifton, an invertebrate specialist, with the help of SDS volunteers.
Monday was mainly spent surveying the Upper Pond area, which involved much scrambling up & down the very steep slopes down to the stream. Various suitable sites were selected and Sally set to work with her net. Samples were collected and put into various buckets, carefully labelled, for later inspection & identification under the microscope. It was noted that, probably due to the number of overhanging trees preventing much light getting into the area, there was very little marginal or submerged vegetation. This will probably mean a small number of different species present here, and this seemed to be the case from looking at the samples. Proper inspection will reveal more.
We then moved down to the Lower Pond which proved to be very difficult to access due to how overgrown the area has become. This is no bad thing as is provides a fairly large area that is relatively undisturbed and is hence a haven for nesting birds and wildlife generally.
We found a good spot to sample and the very first net produced what seemed to be many more species, including a fantastic dragonfly nymph.
We decided to leave the rest of the sampling here to the next day.
On Tuesday we approached the Lower Pond from our neighbours land. Many thanks to Jon Hazel for allowing us to do this as access is a bit easier from his side of the pond.
We found three good sampling sites and plenty of life in this pond, including several Stickleback.
The apparent greater diversity of species found here is probably due to the much more open nature of the habitat and the consequent greater abundance of plants living in & around the pond.
It will be fascinating to find out what Sally discovers lurking in the muddy samples she has taken home with her. Many thanks to her for agreeing to do the survey and thanks also to Debbie Nicolls for giving up her time to help.
This survey is being done by Sally Clifton, an invertebrate specialist, with the help of SDS volunteers.
Monday was mainly spent surveying the Upper Pond area, which involved much scrambling up & down the very steep slopes down to the stream. Various suitable sites were selected and Sally set to work with her net. Samples were collected and put into various buckets, carefully labelled, for later inspection & identification under the microscope. It was noted that, probably due to the number of overhanging trees preventing much light getting into the area, there was very little marginal or submerged vegetation. This will probably mean a small number of different species present here, and this seemed to be the case from looking at the samples. Proper inspection will reveal more.
We then moved down to the Lower Pond which proved to be very difficult to access due to how overgrown the area has become. This is no bad thing as is provides a fairly large area that is relatively undisturbed and is hence a haven for nesting birds and wildlife generally.
We found a good spot to sample and the very first net produced what seemed to be many more species, including a fantastic dragonfly nymph.
We decided to leave the rest of the sampling here to the next day.
On Tuesday we approached the Lower Pond from our neighbours land. Many thanks to Jon Hazel for allowing us to do this as access is a bit easier from his side of the pond.
We found three good sampling sites and plenty of life in this pond, including several Stickleback.
The apparent greater diversity of species found here is probably due to the much more open nature of the habitat and the consequent greater abundance of plants living in & around the pond.
It will be fascinating to find out what Sally discovers lurking in the muddy samples she has taken home with her. Many thanks to her for agreeing to do the survey and thanks also to Debbie Nicolls for giving up her time to help.
REPTILE SURVEY
22/05/11 10:27
If you’ve been walking around the Rifle Range & Steyning Coombe recently, you may have noticed various pieces of roofing felt scattered around. No, these are not unsightly litter to be cleared up, but refugia under which, hopefully, some of our reptile population will gather to warm up. They have been placed to help with our reptile survey and will be checked regularly to establish reptile presence & populations.
This morning we went around the site and found specimens of all four species likely to be here which was a great result.
Common Lizard
Slow Worm
Grass Snake
Adder
Our thanks to Tom Hall for setting this up and agreeing to do the survey for us.
This morning we went around the site and found specimens of all four species likely to be here which was a great result.
Common Lizard
Slow Worm
Grass Snake
Adder
Our thanks to Tom Hall for setting this up and agreeing to do the survey for us.
BUTTERFLY WALK
15/05/11 12:23
There was a very successful butterfly walk today led by Neil Hulme from the Sussex Butterfly Conservation. More than 50 people gathered at our meeting place in Mill Road and Neil took us up to the Rifle Range & then to the Steyning Coombe. Although butterflies were low in numbers, we did see a good range including Small Heath, Common Blue, Holly Blue, Green Hairstreak, Red Admiral, Brimstone, Dingy Skipper, Green-veined White & Wall Brown.
There’s a more detailed write-up here: http://www.sussex-butterflies.org.uk/sightings.html
There’s a more detailed write-up here: http://www.sussex-butterflies.org.uk/sightings.html
SDS INFORMATION EVENING
10/02/11 12:47
On the 10th February we had a very successful evening meeting open to the public at the Steyning Centre. There was a really good turnout and some people had to stand at the back or sit on the floor.
The evening started with an introduction from Richard Goring representing the Wiston Estate, the landowners, followed by a slideshow showing how the scheme had progressed since its inception and some of the wonderful wildlife & landscapes of the site. Bryony Webb, the scheme’s co-ordinator, then gave a talk about the aims & ideals of the scheme and how we are looking for more local people to become involved. Neil Hulme, from Sussex Butterfly Conservation, gave a short talk about how butterfly diversity is already being improved by suitable chalk grassland management, & Sue Rogers, a founding member of the Steering Group talked about her involvement as a local resident.There was a question & answer session & everyone was encouraged to put forward their ideas about the future development of the scheme.
It was a really successful evening and many thanks to all those who helped put the event together.
The evening started with an introduction from Richard Goring representing the Wiston Estate, the landowners, followed by a slideshow showing how the scheme had progressed since its inception and some of the wonderful wildlife & landscapes of the site. Bryony Webb, the scheme’s co-ordinator, then gave a talk about the aims & ideals of the scheme and how we are looking for more local people to become involved. Neil Hulme, from Sussex Butterfly Conservation, gave a short talk about how butterfly diversity is already being improved by suitable chalk grassland management, & Sue Rogers, a founding member of the Steering Group talked about her involvement as a local resident.There was a question & answer session & everyone was encouraged to put forward their ideas about the future development of the scheme.
It was a really successful evening and many thanks to all those who helped put the event together.
BUSHCRAFT DAY
23/08/10 10:28
11 children set out to a rather wet flint barn on 23rd August. Despite the damp twigs, a fire got going and the group learnt some new skills. They used bowsaws, learnt lashing techniques to build their shelters, and tested their map reading skills on a treasure hunt. The day rounded off with some very well earned marshmallow 'smores' (they're so nice, that once you've had one, you want s’more!)
GLOW WORMS
25/06/10 14:14
When is a worm not a worm? When it’s a Glow Worm! This is, in fact, a beetle and the female has the amazing ability of bioluminescence. When she is ready to mate, she positions herself in grassland and signals her readiness by emitting an eerie green light from the end of her abdomen. Males home in on this, mating occurs, she lays her eggs and then dies!
Last Tuesday evening a group of Steyning wildlife enthusiasts accompnied Simon Jackson over the Rifle Range & Steyning Coombe searching for this elusive glow in the dark. It didn’t take too long for one of the party to announce a discovery and soon many others were found. It’s good to know we have a healthy population of this uncommon but amazing beetle. Sherie New managed to get some good photos:
Learn all about glow worms at http://www.glowworms.org.uk/
Last Tuesday evening a group of Steyning wildlife enthusiasts accompnied Simon Jackson over the Rifle Range & Steyning Coombe searching for this elusive glow in the dark. It didn’t take too long for one of the party to announce a discovery and soon many others were found. It’s good to know we have a healthy population of this uncommon but amazing beetle. Sherie New managed to get some good photos:
Learn all about glow worms at http://www.glowworms.org.uk/
STEYNING COUNTRY FAIR
31/05/10 12:55
Did you know that chalk grassland is as diverse as the tropical rainforest - and rarer! The SDS stall at the Steyning Fair gave a practical demonstration of this with two pieces of turf from the project site. One, ungrazed, showed one or two species of tall grasses.The other, grazed, showed an amazing variety of plants in the same area. Lots of people came to visit the stall and found out more about just what a special area Steyning has right on its doorstep.