Ewshot Parish Council has been working with Surrey Wildlife Trust (SWT) on producing habitat maps for the parish. These maps will identify the existing habitats and opportunities for new habitats and improvements. In particular we are looking for where the opportunities lie for improving connectivity between different habitat types.
There are three key habitats within Ewshot that present opportunities for connectivity:
• Heathland - this is largely on the land owned by the MOD who actively manage the sites;
• Hedgerows - they can be used to improve connectivity between different parcels of land, and within Ewshot there are plenty of opportunities to connect areas of woodland through the creation and maintenance of hedgerows. There are lots of online documents that can help with planting and managing hedgerows including two guides produced by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust:
- Suffolk Wildlife Trust introductory guide to hedgerow planting.
- Suffolk Wildlife Trust introductory guide to hedgerow management.
• Woodland - there is a good coverage of woodland in the parish, with several areas classed as designated ancient woodland. It is hoped that SWT, alongside the Woodland Trust, will host a ‘managing woodland’ workshop for woodland owners within the Parish.
The Parish Council will continue to work with SWT to see what more can be done in the Parish. It is hoped that we can initiate some projects that all residents can be involved in.