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Our First Nature Detective Day – Saturday 8th June

Our first Nature Detective Day on Banstead Downs was a huge success Families came along to explore the wonderful chalk grassland habitat, learning about its wildlife and how help conserve its natural beauty Activities included a Bug Hunt, Nature Walk and an opportunity to Meet the Sheep Our team of staff and volunteers were on hand to help, and they were all impressed with the curiosity and enthusiasm everyone showed in finding out about...

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Our Site Management Plans – have your say

Banstead Commons Conservators are working together with Surrey Wildlife Trust to develop 10 year Site Management Plans for each of our four sites: Banstead Downs, Banstead Heath, Burgh Heath and Park Downs A Site Management Plan details how we intend to prioritise resources and organise our land management for the benefit of people and wildlife over a period of ten years Commencing on Saturday 1 June and running until Sunday 30 June we...

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Conservation grazing update – Banstead Downs

Our small flock of twenty seven sheep, a mixture of Herdwick and Beaulah Speckled Face breeds, will be introduced to Pen 3 on Banstead Downs on Thursday 11 April   The grazing enclosure is highlighted in red on the map below  Visitor access to the enclosure is not permitted at this time  We estimate the sheep will be grazing this section of grassland for approximately ten weeks depending on the vegetation growth The grassland areas of...

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Star jelly!

March is peak time for frogspawn Even though, with global warming, it is sometimes sighted nowadays as early as December, now is when you are most likely to see it Although frogs turn up almost anywhere damp and sheltered on land throughout the year, they have to lay their eggs (the spawn) in water because they are amphibians, creatures that can exist in both elements, depending on the circumstances So, at this time of year, they travel from...

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Bird nesting season 2024

Skylarks are one of the UK's most iconic songbirds but did you know they nest on the ground The uniform habitat of the Mill Field on Banstead Heath is an ideal breeding ground for Skylarks and the meadow supports a healthy breeding population of birds  During the nesting season you can enjoy their song-flight above nesting territories as the birds pair up and build their nests  Skylarks will raise two to three broods of young each year simply...

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Banstead Commons Volunteer Update

Dear Volunteers,   What a miserable spate of weather we are experiencing  It looks like there is a chance the wet weather will still be hanging around for our volunteer work party next week, I won’t let rain dampen our spirits though, we have a fun and rewarding task set on Park Downs this month!   Last month the team grappled with birch and woody scrub removal on Banstead Downs  There’s no denying it, digging out the...

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Conservation grazing update – Banstead Downs

A small flock of thirty sheep will be introduced to Pen 2 on Banstead Downs on Wednesday 10 January   The grazing enclosure is highlighted in yellow on the map below  Visitor access to the enclosure is not permitted at this time  We estimate the sheep will be grazing this section of grassland for a period of no longer than ten weeks before they will be moved to Pen 3, marked in red on the map below and the final grazing pen for this...

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Season’s greetings

Dear Supporter, As the year draws to a close, we'd like to write to say thank you for your support this year   Volunteers 2023 has been a memorable year for Banstead Commons Conservators  Earlier this year, we launched our new website and more recently introduced our volunteer task programme on the Commons  A small but dedicated team of volunteers has already joined us over the last couple of months and we hope that as the...

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White-letter day on Banstead Heath

On a bright and sunny day in November, the Conservators warmly welcomed Bill Downey to Banstead Heath in what was a modest but significant tree-planting event in Surrey Bill is the Species Champion for the White-letter Hairstreak butterfly at Surrey and SW London branch of Butterfly Conservation  In his role, Bill not only helps to survey for populations of the butterfly but also creates habitat for the species by planting its sole larval...

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The work of fairies!

On Friday 17 November, Gloucester the Dog, pictured above, hijacked our social media accounts and asked our followers to identify the mystical cluster of mushrooms he found on his walk   In response to those who followed the thread, we solve the mystery below and it has nothing to do with dancing fairies! Fairy Rings on Banstead Commons Many different mushrooms form so-called fairy rings Some of these rough circles can be made out...

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