Return to Waterhall: rewilding our chalk landscape

A specially-commissioned film as part of the South Downs National Park's #ReNature festival.
Now in its second year of 'rewilding', Waterhall - the former Brighton and Hove City Council golf course north of the city - has undergone noticeable changes.
Slowly, this fragile chalk grassland habitat is being restored by grazing cattle and volunteers, managed and led by ranger Paul Gorringe.
For those that want to get involved, go to the Friends of Waterhall Facebook page: / friendsofwaterhall
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Wilding Waterhall is part of a bigger project across the South Downs called Changing Chalk.
Changing Chalk is a partnership connecting nature, people and heritage on and around the South Downs. Led by the National Trust and supported by a £2.23m National Lottery Heritage Fund grant, it will restore lost landscapes and habitats, bring history and local cultures to life and provide new experiences in the outdoors.
#SouthDowns #ReNature #Rewilding #Nature #NationalPark #Conservation

[@jills.2225]

Loved this video! Educational and inspiring. Thank you for sharing.

[@sdnpa]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@MarkDibley]

There is a noticeable difference between this and the previous video about Waterhall. It's looking vibrant. Well done!

[@jamesjefferies3762]

Love your enthusiasm. You're doing a great job. Keep it up. 👍

[@sdnpa]

Thank you so much 😁

[@andrewinpompey]

Great project and a great pair of ambassadors for it

[@jenniferbrown7659]

Aloha! A project cultivating joy, self-love and compassion. It is important to connect with energy, it opens wisdom. I AM interested in visiting & walking with my small dog, Sugar. Asante 🌄🌍🌙

[@sdnpa]

Wonderful!

[@albert2395]

Well done to both of you and your colleagues!❤😊

[@ditch3827]

Great job 🙂

[@andrewuk]

I’ll certainly visiting when I’m back down visiting family. Very interesting info on those ants and those intrepid butterflies.

[@tonyadeney1245]

and lions ...... what ? nice vid

[@NatsAstrea]

Lovely! Best of luck in working with Mother Nature!

[@sdnpa]

Thank you!

[@someblokecalleddave1]

Very commendable.

[@sdnpa]

Many thanks

[@syedadeelhussain2691]

Nice place to sit down on the grass and enjoy some coffee or tea ;) Beautiful landscape.

[@sdnpa]

It sure is

[@corfubirdclub]

So glad I haven't got a GPS collar round my neck (yet!).

[@markvandenbossche3812]

Great work, privet hedges are a wonderful source of food for hover flies also.

[@sdnpa]

Very true!

[@markjones7109]

Fantastic work guys. Truly inspiring!

[@sdnpa]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@coffeeman2079]

We are visiting the Knepp estate at the end of March so will certainly make a detour to visit your lovely project.

[@sdnpa]

Please do!

[@coffeeman2079]

@@sdnpa We visited and it looks great. Will definitely return to both Rewilding projects.

[@martinrobson4386]

Great video, very informative

[@sdnpa]

Glad you think so!

[@mr.mrs.d.7015]

💙 I miss living there

[@sdnpa]

Don't worry, we'll keep bringing it to you.

[@yaiirable]

Love learning about rewilding projects, can't wait to come visit!

[@sdnpa]

Fantastic! It's a brilliant trip and worth seeing what can be achieved when nature is given a chance.

[@jonomusoman]

Watch fools and dreamers. That’s true rewilding

[@chrisrowland6399]

I can remember when the bottom of the valley was a rubbish tip and as kids we played their climbing over pots of old paint cans! Sometimes we would take my mother's pet rescue dogs for walks on the downs next to the golf course. It was a shocking mess in the 70's, so great to see Waterhall as a rewilding area today. Good luck with this wonderful project. Will there be a visitors centre in the old golf house, as it would be a great place for a café and information centre with off grid with microgeneration?

[@sdnpa]

Hi Chris. Good question to ask. Currently the old club house is being used to house visiting school groups, along with the Brighton and Hove Food Partnership. The project is being led by Brighton and Hove City Council, so there may be further plans to use the club house in different ways further down the line.

[@RussTillling]

Great video, well done!

[@maxrichards7280]

Don't the cows prevent the return of trees, which would create a more diverse ecosystem?

[@sdnpa]

Hi. Really good question. There is a good patchwork of trees on site, with a good mix of species. There's also good 'scrubby' areas which will be preserved. Inviting a mosaic of different types of habitat on site is key to its success. What the cows are really effective at doing which is keeping big areas of the site open for a more varied grassland habitat, which then allows smaller wild flowers to flourish in the summer months, inviting bees and butterflies. The openness is also really good for birds of prey when they're actively hunting small mammals and birds.

[@maxrichards7280]

Thanks for the reply! So the idea is that you're cultivating a grassland habitat, and using cows for this purpose? Are there similar schemes in England promoting a forest habitat? Like the Caledonian Forest in Scotland @@sdnpa

[@harislittle9241]

@@maxrichards7280 Although temperate rainforests and caledonian forests are depleted, most forest ecosystems are quite abundant compared to wildflower meadows, woody scrubland and fens, so in my view some of the less forested ecosystems should be the UKs conservation priority !

[@maxrichards7280]

@@harislittle9241 i'm not that well versed in ecology and the habitats of the UK, I just read Feral by George Monbiot. His argument was that the best way to restore biodiversity is to a) keep the sheep out and b) let natural processes do their thing. Also that the only way of restoring trophic levels is large predators. Until we get appetite for this we arent going to achieve that much. And to your point, given that the UK is one of the most depleted places anywhere, i don't see what supports the claim that forests are abundant. Three grains of rice is more abundant than one, sure, but neither is enough to live on. Can you point me to any resources? I'd like to learn more.

[@maxrichards7280]

P.s. this being the internet, i see that what im saying could appear quite negative, but really i'm glad anyone is doing anything to help wildlife! I just dream of restoring a Wild Isles. Bring back the wolves!

[@englishweather9763]

we can do this without the likes of unesco