Lederman trainees - our first month

Abi Haidemenos 

Ledermann Trainee Ranger

Spring is here and so are we!

April has been the first month of myself and Pip (Newby, my fellow trainee) living and working in East Sussex as the Lederman Trainee Rangers for the Sussex Wildlife Trust; and we are so happy to be here.

In our first week we worked at Ditchling Beacon clearing scrub (a mix of Old Man’s Beard, Blackthorn, Sycamore Saplings) which had been cut on previous workdays by the hardy volunteers, and some much needed fence maintenance at Malling Down. Meeting and working with the Wildlife Trust Hit Squad volunteers, and volunteers from the South Downs National Park has been an absolute highlight. Everyone is so knowledgeable about the landscape and history of the area, and for a Midlander like me it was brilliant to learn about East Sussex’s Iron Age Hill forts and World War Two dog fights over the Downs while working together on the hillside. We had beautiful clear skies for two days at Ditchling Beacon and saw countless Buzzards above, and the first Early Purple Orchids and Twayblades under our feet. The sun also bought out some skittish Common Lizards who were basking in habitat piles left for invertebrates and reptiles to nest, rest, and hunt.

At the end of the week we visited three other reserves with the lovely encyclopaedia of knowledge; Alex Worsley, Sussex Wildlife Trust’s Senior Ecologist. Our first stop was Leythorne Meadow which contains calcareous fen meadow, historic watercress beds, and pasture land. The Meadow is tucked away off an A road and feels like it’s own tiny little world. We heard a Cetti’s Warbler in the old watercress beds and the pasture was teeming with spiders and invertebrates. In the summer the Meadow is home to Southern and Fragrant Marsh orchids and many Dragon and Damselflies, so we are planning to be back once summer creeps in.

Next stop was meeting Rob Eadie, Volunteer Reserve Manager at Levin Down, and Neil Hulme, a naturalist and butterfly expert, to discuss the potential reintroduction of the Duke of Burgundy butterfly to the reserve. Being able to listen in (and ask lots of questions!) about the land management decisions to be made, species specific requirements, and the actual process of reintroduction was an incredibly useful experience. I feel capable of identifying an optimum Duke of Burgundy habitat at twenty paces now. 

Excitingly Rob has been keeping an eye on the Adders on site and he showed us a beautiful melanistic ‘Black Adder’, which was the first Adder sighting of my life. Rob is incredibly knowledgeable [read his recent blog here] and Levin Down is a jewel of diverse habitats in the manicured landscape of the surrounding Goodwood estate, so a visit is highly recommended.

The final stop of our tour was Butcherlands, a developing wood pastureland connecting to the larger Ebernoe Common reserve. There were some really interesting conservation techniques to see here including using brambles as nurseries for new saplings to protect them from grazing. We also heard Nightingales calling across the reserve, but the real stars of the show are the grazing team’s new goats (Bagots and Jerseys) who have been introduced to the reserve to manage the sward and controlling aggressive species.

Next week we will be joining the grazing team to support with lambing, so stay tuned for some baby sheep content!