About 30 villagers and families attended the special event in the village hall in February to learn about how we should manage a special little Nature Reserve like the Buriton Chalk Pits.
Martin Healey, an expert from East Hampshire District Council, gave an illustrated talk complete with a homemade 'landscape' and torch. He used these to show how the various lumps and bumps in the Chalk Pits create very different habitats depending on the angle of the sun (torch).
As the sun moves across the sky each day it gives different amounts of light (and warmth) to different parts of the site - and some parts are always shady and cool. Fascinating!
The talk was followed by a walk around the site and this provided more information about what should be done to look after each area. It was a very cold day and we all ended up in the Maple Inn for lunch. This was much needed!
Parish Council plans to restore the old pond at the top of the Chalk Pits site were explained: as well as providing an attractive feature, the pond should be valuable for biodiversity and is likely to attract bats, kingfishers and moths. It is intended to ensure that this feature is accessible for all visitors including wheelchairs.
