Grass cutting on the Downs
HBM
By popular demand, here is the grass cutting plan that Serco have for the Downs.
Friends of the Downs home page
Friends of the Downs
Friends of the Downs home page
Fred Booth MBE
HBM
The Summer 2011 edition of the Kent Wildlife Trust magazine carried a very welcome bit of news:
June saw the award of MBE to Fred Booth. Fred has been actively involved in telling people about the importance of Kent's Wildlife for years. Leading YOC and RSPB local groups in Canterbury; the Trust's first Chief Executive; active in the Kent Field Club; leader of walks and talks and an early advocate of the need to know more about our marine environment, active in the Maidstone Local Group - Fred has done it all. No royal accolade has been more deserved than Fred's.
Congratulations to Fred from all the Friends of the Downs. Now we'll have to have a whip-round to get some red carpet for his next visit!
Friends of the Downs home page
Wildlife walkabout
HBM
WILDLIFE SURVEY: A WALKABOUT WITH FRED BOOTH
Despite the rather threatening looking weather there was a good turn out for the walkabout with Fred Booth from the Kent Wildlife Trust. Fred divided the Downs into three distinctive areas
- the western end with its mix of wild blackthorn and grassy areas.
- the central area being mainly open grassland.
- the eastern end being grassy areas dotted with mixed scrub.
Friends of the Downs home page
URGENT: Beach hut threat
HBM
Beach Hut Option Appraisal Report 2011
Here we go again! Despite the massive support for the Village Green application, and the clear message that Herne Bay wants the Downs unspoilt, the Council is thinking of putting up beach huts.
The consultation process is described below - the first step will be a debate at HBAMP (the Herne Bay Area Members Panel, i.e. our town councillors) on 14th June at 6:30pm in the Salvation Army Hall, 33 Richmond Street, Herne Bay.
Read MoreFriends of the Downs home page
What we found on the Litter Pick
HBM
Our recent litter pick was very impressive. Many, many thanks to all of you who came along. In less than a couple of hours, we collected eight sacks of rubbish from the eastern end of the Downs, including a few surprises like an arrow (!), a chunk of kitchen sink, a ping pong bat, and a very unattractive pair of Y-fronts. The mind boggles!
I think my least favourite bits of rubbish are crisp bags (which seem to be indestructible) and plastic vending machine cups, which split into dozens of white plastic sticks which then go everywhere.
Mystery Gull
Shortly after we arrived at the car park at the end of Reculver Drive, we were befriended by a very people-friendly young gull. It turned out that this youngster is regularly on the scrounge, and has trained a number of people to turn up and feed it each morning! If you have any idea what species this is, please let us know in the comments section below.
MYSTERY PLANTS
One of the good things about litter-picking is that your attention is focused on the ground, so you see things that would otherwise go unnoticed. Here's a couple of rather lovely plants that I spotted, and I have no idea what they are.
If any of you green-fingered botanical types can enlighten us, fill in the comments bit below.
Mystery Plant 1
Mystery Plant 2
Friends of the Downs home page