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Our work here
18 July 2011
Pulborough Brooks reserve lies in the scenic Arun valley. It consists mostly of wet grassland, surrounded by woodland and scrub.
The valley itself is a RAMSAR site and Special Protection Area (SPA), due to its important populations of wintering waterfowl and breeding waders, as well as other aquatic wildlife.
The RSPB manages the reserve's habitats for the benefit of this wildlife, and to increase its overall biodiversity.
Flooding and grazing
We use controlled flooding on the wet grassland to maintain the right conditions for birds. This helps keep water levels right for wildfowl such as wigeon in autumn and winter, and for breeding waders such as lapwing in spring and summer.
We also keep a healthy mosaic of grassland habitats by grazing with cattle, and by cutting hay from some fields.
Every three to seven years we clean out the ditches, to encourage more wetland plants and invertebrates.
Woods, hedges and fields
The reserve's woods, hedges and fields are home to breeding songbirds such as nightingales, as well as many butterflies and other wildlife. To encourage their biodiversity, we are laying and coppicing small areas of hedge and scrub on a 10-25 year rotation, while leaving some areas of woodland to grow tall.
We are also grazing cattle and sheep on the higher pasture to create a greater variety of grassland habitats.
Helping the heath
On the south-eastern part of the reserve, we aim to establish a 25-hectare area of heath and acid grassland to provide more habitat for birds such as nightjars. To do this, we are controlling scrub and bracken, felling conifer plantations on areas of former heathland and spreading heather seed on recently cleared areas.
Currently, there are two viewpoints, two public rights of way and picnic areas. Trails and further viewpoints will be developed over time.
In the future, we will be using cattle and sheep to graze the heathland.
Visitors
We continue to manage the reserve as an important local visitor attraction. Our facilities include an attractive visitor centre in a converted barn, four bird-watching hides, and a 3.5 km circular trail.
Funding
We are extremely grateful for the financial support received from SITA Trust through the Landfill Communities Fund, Defra and Natural England towards biodiversity works at the reserve.
We've recently reduced the reserve's carbon footprint with solar thermal and photovoltaic panels installed alongside other energy saving measures. This has been generously funded by the Low Carbon Buildings Programme (a Department of Energy and Climate Change grant scheme distributed by BRE (Buildings Research Establishment), the Community Sustainable Energy Programme (a Big Lottery grant also distributed by BRE) and the South Downs AONB Sustainable Development Fund.
Thanks to help on the reserve from employees of Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Earthwatch, Worthing College and American Express, we have been able to deliver more for conservation at Pulborough Brooks.
How you can help
We need your support to continue our work
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