Biggest butterfly project to date

The South East England Woodlands Project focused on one of the UK's most heavily wooded regions. The South East's woods have suffered from a chronic lack of management - this project showed how sustainable management can reap huge benefits for wildlife.

Project aims

The project aims were to reinvigorate woodland management and halt the delines of some of our rarest woodland species by;

• Promoting woodland management through training, information, support and advice to landowners, conservation volunteers and local communities
• Engaging communities to celebrate and conserve their woodland heritage and the threatened butterflies and moths it supports; and
• Building, training and supporting a network of skilled volunteers to monitor wildlife, proving information to landowners and focussing local conservation action.

Key activities took place in

• Denge Woods near Canterbury in Kent
• Rother Woods near Rye in East Sussex
• Tytherley Woods on the Hampshire /Wiltshire border

The project finished in March 2010 and a summary of the achievements can be viewed in the FINAL REPORT.

Resources for you

We have incorporated our findings into resources and advice, taking the messages learnt in the South East to a wider audience, to secure long-term sustainable benefits for woodlands and their wildlife.

To see all the resources that are available to download and to find out more about the great work Butterfly Conservation are doing to help save wildlife in our woodlands go to the Woodland habitat advice page.

Contact

Email your comments or queries to Dr Dan Hoare, South East Senior Regional Officer.

Funders

The South East Woodlands Project has been made possible by a £289,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, and a £200,000 grant from the Tubney Charitable Trust. We have also received huge support from several other grant making trusts, Butterfly Conservation’s local branches and numerous individual supporters who have generously donated to our woodlands appeal. Other funders include: Biffaward, the Ernest Kleinwort Charitable Trust, the Forestry Commission, Hampshire County Council, the Kent Downs AONB, the High Weald AONB, Natural England, Ownwood Limited (Woodlands.co.uk), SITA Trust, The Slater Foundation Limited, Southern Water and the Woodland Trust.