Regenerating wildlife-rich Downland
A long-term not-for-profit project to create the conditions for nature to return and thrive.
Kingston Hill Fields are 50 acres of chalk grassland on the edge of Kingston Village, near Lewes, withing the South Downs National Park. Since 2005, when the last crop was harvested, the land has been given to nature, ending decades of intensive arable farming sustained only with chemical fertilisers, pesticides and other sprays. However, this is not just a story of nature recovery; it is also an extraordinary story of a community, initially without experience, taking control of their environment and creating a valuable space for nature.
In our first summer, 2006, the land resembled a wasteland with little soil and few plants. It took a huge step in trust that the land could recover without reseeding. Within a few years though a stunning wildlife-rich meadow began to emerge. We were fortunate in having a SSSI next to us to speed the process.
Species -rich Chalk grassland is perhaps the most diverse habitat in Britain, it can have 45 species of flowering plants and mosses per square metre, some unable to live anywhere else. They have been described as “the European equivalent of tropical rainforest.” Sadly, they are also one of the most threatened habitats, 97% having been lost since the 1940’s.
As with rewilding we take the long view and mostly allow nature to work unhindered. However, we describe what we do as regenerative farming as we find it necessary to manually remove scrub because grassland rapidly reverts tto this, significantly reducing its biodiversity. We also lay some of our hedges to provide dense cover from the ground up.
