Thirty years of heathland restoration at Rammamere Heath
Tarmac and the Greensand Trust celebrate 30-year restoration partnership on the Greensand Ridge
TARMAC and The Greensand Trust recently came together to celebrate 30 years of heathland restoration at Rammamere Heath, near Rushmere Country Park, in Bedfordshire. A special celebration event was held at the Country Park to mark the occasion, with nearly 30 attendees turning up for a walk to the heath to admire the results of three decades of conservation effort, including an estimated 17,000 volunteer hours.
Bedfordshire’s Greensand Ridge is especially important for its heathland habitat and the species it supports, including the rarely seen adder. Restoration work at Rammamere Heath, which is owned by Tarmac, has been carried out in partnership with the Greensand Trust and the Wildlife Trusts, and has transformed a landscape of bracken and conifer plantations with little wildlife into an open heath which turns purple with heather flowers in the summer.
Back in 1994, when the initiative started, the Greensand Trust’s predecessor body, the Greensand Project, part of the Wildlife Trusts, held volunteer tasks, providing opportunities for local people to get involved, supervised by Greensand Trust ecologist Phil Irving, who still works for the Trust today. One of the volunteers present at the beginning, Rosemary Howell, still volunteers with the Trust and was also present at the recent celebratory event.
Steven Smith, chair of the Greensand Trust, said: ‘The restoration of places such as Rammamere Heath demonstrates what can be achieved with vision, commitment, and partnership. This project has evolved and grown alongside the Greensand Trust, transforming a landscape, improving biodiversity, and providing opportunities for local people to be involved. Without the support of Tarmac and their predecessors, this would not have been possible, and we look forward to continuing this work for the next 30 years.’
Tarmac estates manager Michael Charlton said: ‘We were delighted to join our partners to celebrate 30 years of working together to restore heathland habitats on Rammamere Heath, which has seen a remarkable transformation from the pine forest and bracken-dominated scrub that was here in 1994. We are very grateful for the support of the Greensand Trust teams and all their volunteers who help us manage this important site, and we look forward to continuing our work together to create wildlife-rich habitats on the Greensand Ridge over the coming years.’
The event concluded with a workshop on the Bedfordshire Local Nature Recovery Strategy, helping to identify how heathland can be further restored and looked after in the future.
