Patience and Ryburn move to Branton
Two Exmoor ponies become ‘natural lawnmowers’ at a CEMEX nature conservation area
TWO Exmoor ponies, Patience and Ryburn, are now residents at CEMEX’s Branton Nature Conservation Area, near Powburn, in Northumberland, and have become the site’s ‘natural lawnmowers’.
Branton, a former sand and gravel quarry, has been progressively restored and transformed into a stunning 29ha nature conservation area, and the introduction of Patience and Ryburn will enhance the wildlife at the site through conservation grazing (the use of grazing animals to manage sites of conservation interest).
The two Exmoor ponies have been provided by Flexigraze, an innovative social enterprise run by Northumberland Wildlife Trust, which specializes in providing different species of breeds and livestock for grazing on nature reserves and important grasslands.
Extensive grazing at Branton will create a diverse grass sward, making it richer in plants, invertebrates and insects, including butterflies and bumblebees, and therefore of benefit to a variety of birds.
‘Patience and Ryburn are an excellent way of keeping the grass mown. But they do more than just ensuring the area doesn’t become overgrown, they help to increase the biodiversity of the site, which is to everyone’s benefit,’ commented Stephen Comber of Flexigraze.
Conservation grazing at Branton will contribute to CEMEX’s biodiversity strategy, which was launched in 2010 and aims to manage and enhance priority conservation habitats to create outstanding areas for people, communities and nature.
