Willesborough Dykes Part of the Willesborough Dykes -

note anthills, a sign of undisturbed The countryside & urban green space newsletter for people living
Education Project grassland in & around Ashford & the Low Weald
KSCP with support from Ashford Borough Council is running an Education

Stour View
Project on Willesborough Dykes. Schools in the Ashford area are taking part in
the exciting project that will take a closer look at this unique wetland habitat.
Activities will encourage pupils to study food chains and the way they work in Issue 39
nature through a range of activities including pond dipping, bird identification, Spring 2008
role-playing and a whole host of animal orientated fun games. All schools in-

Ashford & The Low Weald

volved will take part in an exhibition presenting all the things they’ve learnt. If
you have a group that is interested in taking part contact the KSCP.

Volunteers combat pond invaders CONSERVING, ENHANCING AND

A traditional rural market town, Ashford is changing rapidly. The River Great Stour, being
the only major river in East Kent, is a special asset, along with its green corridors running
PROMOTING THE COUNTRYSIDE
through the town into the countryside. Outside of the town are the pretty settlements at the
On a cold day KSCP volunteers braved icy water to remove invasive reeds from a AND URBAN GREEN SPACE OF
THE STOUR VALLEY
foot of the downs, and of the Low Weald and Greensand Ridge. There is a good hedgerow
pond within the Bowen’s Field Wetland Park, part of the Ashford Green Corridor Local
network and many ponds on the clay soils. Views from the Greensand Ridge across the
Nature Reserve. The reeds were beginning to dominate and have a detrimental effect
Weald are stunning.
on the wildlife value of the pond.

Aiming high: the work of Clean Kent

Countryside events Bluebell walk - King's Wood Car Park - Sat 26th April 10.00-12.00am. Friends of
King's Wood. £2 to non members
2008 marks the four year anniversary of Clean Kent, a multi-agency initiative committed to
improving Kent’s environment. Facilitated by Kent County Council, Clean Kent is a partnership
around the Downs & In search of the Duke of Burgundy - Denge Woods, Waltham (gate TR099503) involving the 12 district and borough councils, Kent Police, Kent Fire and Rescue, the Environ-
the Low Weald 4th May 10.30am. Butterfly Conservation. Booking Essential 01303 815171 ment Agency, Highways Agency, HM Prison Service and the Kent Probation Area, as well as
Ham Street Country Fayre - Sat 7th-8th June. www.hamstreetcountryfayre.co.uk voluntary organisations.
Moth morning (National Moth Night) - Wye & Crundale NNR. Sunday 8th June
10.00am. Butterfly Conservation. Booking Essential 01303 815171 Since its inception, Clean Kent has accomplished much in the fight against flytipping, littering
Nightjar walk - King's Wood Car Park - Wed 11th June 9.00-11.00pm. Friends Of and graffiti. Key achievements include a 15% reduction in the reported incidences of flytipping
King's Wood. £2 to non members and a 40% reduction in rubbish fires. A dedicated enforcement unit has also helped deter crime
Charing Church Fete - Clewards Meadow - Sat 21st June 12.00 onwards as have initiatives such as the Neighbourhood Response Teams.
Minibeasts & butterflies - Charing Alderbed Meadow Sat 5th July 10-12.00am
KSCP 01233 813307 From working with teams to protect Kent’s countryside to educational projects in schools across the county, Clean
Pluckley Hog Fair - Sat 5th July 11.00am -11.00pm. Recreation Ground. Kent aims to positively influence behaviour across all sectors of society, young and old. Education plays an important
Entrance & parking free. www.pluckley.net 01233 840044 role and Clean Kent offers children of all ages a wide variety of schemes designed to teach them the benefits of
Egerton Music Festival - 4th-13th July. www.egertonmusicfestival.co.uk protecting, respecting and preserving their environment.
Butterfly walk - King's Wood Car Park - Sat 19th July 11.00-1.00pm. Friends of
Bluebells at King's Wood
King's Wood £2 to non members/KSCP. 01233 813307 Moving onwards and upwards, the next steps are to build on successes. In summarizing the campaign’s achieve-
ments, Clean Kent Coordinator, Melanie Price comments: “Positive change is at the heart of Clean Kent. We’ve come
Volunteering Volunteer days a long way and recognise there is still ground to cover. With continued co-operation from our partners and the public,
we can make Kent a cleaner, safer and more beautiful place to live and work.”
Come along and lend a hand with a variety of enjoyable Wednesdays (Ashford area): Meet 9.15 at the KSCP Offices.
and worthwhile practical conservation projects through-
out the Stour Valley!
Thursdays (Canterbury & Wantsum): Meet 9.15 at KSCP offices New Countryside Debbie Adams
joined the KSCP
Conservation on the continent
For our detailed programme, ‘phone us on 01233 or 9.45 at North Lane Car Park, Canterbury.
Officer for Ashford last October after Plans are underfoot for a French
813307 or go to our website and click on ‘get involved’. graduating in foray for KSCP volunteers with
2007 from the University of two planned exchange week-
KSCP publications, for those who enjoy the countryside Greenwich with a BSc in
La n ds c a p e M a na g em en t.
ends in early 2008. February will
see KSCP voyage across to
Debbie's previous roles have Nord Pas de Calais to renew
included Countyside Ranger at relations with French environ-
Bewl Water, British Wildlife mental conservation group “Les
Keeper, farm worker and most Blongios” before the return
recently a Farm Environment weekend 22nd-23rd March when
Consultant in East Sussex. the French will join us for a
weekend of hedge planting in
Hastingleigh.
Project Sponsors
Train Rides to Ramble (£3.99) & Bike Trails by Train Stour Valley Walk & Elham Valley Way (£5.00) Recrea- Wildsites (£1.00) A guide
(£2.50) Circular walks and cycle rides from railway tional walks produced by Kent County Council with help to 31 wildlife sites in the
stations in the Stour Valley. Full colour, clear maps and from KSCP. Stour Valley.
directions, packed with information and illustrations.

All available from local Tourist Information Centres, quality bookshops, KSCP, and Kent County Council (08458 247600 or [email protected]). Every effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this publication is accurate. The publishers can accept no responsibility for any
errors or omissions. The views expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily those of the Kentish Stour Countryside Project.

14146_KSCP_Ashford_News 1 28/1/08 14:50:18

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 Horse grazing for wildlife About the Project
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Would you like to purchase some traditional bean and pea sticks for your garden or allotment? Not only will they look ASHFORD with
with landowners
landowners and local
local communities
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manage

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attractive but you'll be supporting a local product and avoiding, in some cases, bamboo imports. The KSCP carry out W
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landscapes, wildlife
wildlife habitats
habitats and urban
urban greenspace.
greenspace.
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coppicing of hazel each year and we are offering to deliver bean and pea sticks while stocks last. The bean sticks will Brabourne NDW We
We develop
develop opportunities
opportunities for
for appropriate
appropriate recreational
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come in bundles of 10 costing £5. They are 8 feet (2 metres) long and most should last three years. Pea sticks - bundles A A Mersham &
access
access and promote
promote the outstanding qualitiesDOVER
outstanding qualities of the
of
Smeeth
of 20 at £3, are 3-4 feet (1 metre) and will probably only last one season. Contact the KSCP to place an order, delivery L Kingsnorth NSevington A 20 Stour
Stour Valley. The
The Project
Project operates
operates as aa partnership
partnership
early April to locations within or close to the KSCP area. D D between
between local people, Project staff and and sponsoring
sponsoring
organisations.
organisations.
FOLKESTONE
Welcome to the wildside Kentish Stour Countryside Project
Sidelands Farm
Natural England has recently launched the Welcome to the Wildside Project, this is a Wye
community based project focussing on three National Nature Reserves - Wye (near Kent TN25 5DQ Project Manager: Jon Shelton
Ashford), Ham Street Woods (near Ashford) and Stodmarsh (near Canterbury). The Tel: 01233 813307 Ashford Countryside Officer: Debbie Adams
project will be putting on a variety of activities ranging from art workshops, to E-mail: [email protected] Canterbury & Wantsum Countryside Officer: Matt Hayes
woodland management walks, catering for different ages and abilities. There will also www.kentishstour.org.uk Assistant Project Officer (P/T): Craig Edwards
be volunteer days to get local people involved in the nature reserves. For further
A guided walk for the Ashford information 01233 811205 or [email protected]
International Chinese Association AGC Community Heritage Project
The KSCP has spent the last year talking with Ashford people about the heritage of the Green
Conservation grant Corridor and it has now published its findings on www.ashfordgreencorridor.org.uk. The
Lenacre Farm at the foot of the Downs has successfully Corridor is both a wildlife corridor, with riverside habitats linking town and countryside, and a
planted 300m of native mix hedgerow and excavated green transport corridor, providing routes for walkers and cyclists through its green spaces. The
a new pond on their holding with help from a Community Heritage Project has revealed that it is also a corridor linking the present with the
KSCP conservation grant. In addition to this, a past - a gateway to Ashford's heritage. The project focused on oral history - people's own
long stretch of ditch was re-profiled to encourage recollections and memories of places as they used to be and events affecting the town's rivers
better drainage from the surrounding pastoral land. and associated landscapes. Funding for the project was made available by the Heritage
The ditch was re-profiled to incorporate Lottery Fund. There are many stories about Sidney Bowen, after whom Bowen's Field is
meanders and a variation of water depths to named. Norman Ibbotson told us that Sid was a cattle trader as well as a farmer, and
provide suitable habitat for a range of aquatic Meanders in the re-profiled ditch Bowen's Field was used to keep cattle overnight after being transported, before going to
Creation of a woodland pond adds
flora which will greatly increase existing am- habitat diversity market. But it wasn't just cattle that Sid traded in: he once imported 100 donkeys from Ireland
phibious activity on this valuable landscape. that promptly escaped from his farm, wreaking havoc in people's gardens all over Ashford. It
took two days to eventually round them all up!
KCC members fund minibus
Bowen’s Field today
Contributions from the Kent County Council Small Community Capital Grants
fund has allowed the KSCP to purchase a three year old minibus that will be Little Burton is riverside linked to Ashford
used by its volunteers. Jon Shelton from the KSCP says 'We had our previous
The final work to provide the much needed footpath/cycle link between Queen Mother
crewbus for 15 years and it served us really well over all that time, to the point
Park and Ashford Rugby Club leading to Little Burton has taken place. The link goes
that I think the volunteers were sorry to see it go. We would like to loan the mini-
under the M20 and avoids a big detour onto the busy A28. It means easier access to the
bus to local groups such as schools and youth groups around our base in Wye,
railway station and town centre and of course improves the enjoyment of the Ashford
to ensure that most use is made of it, so please contact us if you are interested.
Green Corridor - have fun! The final work taking place near the Sewage Works

14146_KSCP_Ashford_News 2 28/1/08 14:50:23

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