Biffa Award supports vital heathland conservation work at Hindhead, Frensham and Witley Commons
An ambitious project to help restore Surrey Hills’ iconic heathland at Hindhead Commons, Frensham Little Pond and Witley and Milford Commons, is underway thanks to a £285,000 grant from the Biffa Award Partnerships Grant Scheme.
A vibrant new chapter in heathland conservation has begun here thanks to generous support from Biffa Award. The funding will help the National Trust to restore and protect the delicate heathland ecosystem at Hindhead Commons and nearby land, with a focus on safeguarding heathland birds, native wildlife and restoring natural habitats.
Hindhead Commons was recently designated part of the new Wealden Heaths National Nature Reserve (NNR), one of the Kings Series of NNRs. The National Trust’s Surrey Hills team is working together with Natural England Heathland Connections Nature Recovery programme, bringing together multiple partners to enhance wildlife-rich areas of the Surrey Hills.
The Biffa Award will be used to:
- Improve nesting and feeding grounds for heathland bird species.
- Renovate a bat barn to support roosting and breeding for local bat populations.
- Create new ponds to boost wetland biodiversity.
- Purchase young ponies to graze the common and maintain the landscape naturally.
We are delighted to support the National Trust’s vital work to restore and protect the heathland landscape at Hindhead Commons and the wider Surrey Hills. These rare habitats are home to some of the UK’s most threatened wildlife, and it’s crucial that we work together to secure their future.
Heathland, characterised by low-growing shrubs like purple heathers, gorse and bilberry, is declining across Europe. One fifth of the precious remaining lowland heath in Europe is here in the UK. It’s essential for the survival of rare heathland birds, amphibians and butterflies, such as the nightjar, woodlark, sand lizard and silver-studded blue butterfly.
This support from Biffa Award is proving to be a game-changer for our conservation work at Hindhead Commons, Frensham Little Pond and Witley and Milford Commons. It has allowed us to take vital steps toward restoring the heathland and ensuring future generations can enjoy the beauty and biodiversity of this landscape.
The project will enable us to remove invasive scrub from the rare heathland habitat, as well as renovating a dilapidated cart shed for bats. We’ll also reintroduce historic land management practices such as mowing heather, for the silver-studded blue butterflies and creating bare ground for nesting woodlarks.
We plan to increase the number of native Exmoor ponies, as these sustainably manage the heathland by eating the invasive birch scrub. So far, we have two new ponies at Witley, the first at Witley for over 10 years and we're looking to introduce more ponies throughout th year. Through this approach we hope to improve and extend the heathland habitat for some species like the silver-studded blue butterflies and sand lizards that are currently absent from some parts of Witley Common.
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