Farming in Protected Landscapes

Targeted scrub reduction efforts help maintain biodiversity, prevent habitat encroachment, and safeguard rare plant species. The vegetated shingle ridges at Landguard provide a vital breeding ground for the red-listed, ground-nesting ringed plover, a species under significant conservation concern and a priority species for the National Landscape.

These fragile ridges also serve as a sanctuary for protected plant species, including sea pea, yellow horned poppy and sea kale. Preserving these habitats from encroachment is essential in maintaining the delicate balance of the coastal ecosystem, ensuring that rare and vulnerable species continue to thrive in their natural environment.

Careful habitat management helps safeguard these critical areas, supporting both wildlife conservation and biodiversity preservation efforts.

What will this project achieve?

The increasing encroachment of bramble scrub is affecting habitat diversity and stability of the sandy ground at the Reserve. Previous manual management using basic tools such as strimmers and push mowers was slow, inefficient, and labour-intensive.

Seasonal restrictions, including the bird nesting season and adverse weather conditions, further limit targeted scrub management, so the Landguard & Felixstowe Conservation Trust undertook a comprehensive scrub management and trail enhancement initiative to improve habitat resilience, enhance biodiversity, and create better access for public enjoyment and education.

Following this, the Trust applied and were successful in gaining a Farming in Protected Landscapes grant towards the cost. The project helped with the purchase of the

following modern machinery and equipment so that this work can be carried out regularly:

• Compact tractor and weights
• Flail collector
• Sickle bar hedge cutter
• Tipping trailer
• Combi pole pruner
• Battery chainsaw
• Towed collector
• Timber clad lean to
• Farm gate and fence tensioning