Continuing on the educational side of things, we recently hosted a training day so local rangers could learn techniques to survey and monitor wildflower meadows and grassland. This is all because in 2017 the National Trust set itself an ambitious target to help combat the decline in British wildlife and seek alternatives to unsustainable land management and intensive farming. This will be achieved by creating 25,000 hectares of new, wildlife-friendly habitat by 2025. In addition we are aiming that at least 50% of our farmland will be classed as ‘high value for nature’ which means it will include protected hedgerows, woodland, field margins, ponds and other habitats that encourage wildlife to thrive.
This training, along with many other similar courses being held at NT properties up and down the country, is a way for our rangers to learn the system we will use to assess and monitor our habitats. In turn, the information collected will both allow us to check whether we are on course to hit our targets and provide invaluable records to inform future management.
- The National Trust Ranger team, Trelissick and North Helford