Biodiversity

Local Habitat and Species Action Plans

To educate and spread awareness on the value of acid grasslands for wildlife within the borough
To promote sustainable management practices of acid grassland sites

Acid grasslands are a well kept secret when it comes to Biodiversity. Within these lie an abundance of hidden treasures. On close investigation one can discover a variety of fine-leafed grasses and associated wild flowers, such as common bent, red and sheep's fescues, wavy hair-grass, sheep's sorrel, tormentil, catsear and heath bedstraw
They were chosen as an action plan as it was felt their value was underestimated within the local community. It is only recently that the value of these Thames Terrace grasslands has become better known, as these are often on south facing slopes which heat up rapidly and attract in specific insects, such as ground nesting bees that are attracted to their shallow, light soils

Acid grasslands are subject to a National and Regional Action Plan and are a priority for protection
A number of sites within the borough have been designated either as:
- Sites of metropolitan importance for nature conservation (Chase Local Nature Reserve and Eastbrookend Country Park), or Sites of borough
- Importance such as Beam Valley South, and parts of Parsloes Park
- Sites of local importance such as St Peter's and St Paul's Churchyard, Dagenham

The magic of acid grasslands is their subtlety. Because of this they are easily overlooked, can be undervalued and are vulnerable to lack of management and prone to development
The optimal management of acid grassland is low-intensity grazing. This is often difficult to achieve as it requires the presence of animal stock, with the associated fencing. Animal stock is difficult to obtain in urban fringe areas such as Dagenham, and fencing of open spaces is unpopular with the public. Due to this mowing tends to be the most widely applied method. However, as this is often completed across the whole site, rather than on a rotational basis, this often destroys the wildlife value of acid grassland considerably

Acid grasslands are subject to National and Regional Action Plans and are a priority for protection
The London Acid Grassland Working Group has created management guidance on Acid Grasslands. They are also holding a conference on Acid Grasslands in 2005
The Chase Local Nature Reserve and the Beam Valley are currently drafting management guidance for the protection and enhancement of their acid grassland sites

Ranger Services

The Millennium Centre

The Chase

Dagenham Road

Rush Green

Romford

RM7 0SS

Tel: 020 8595 4155

Fax: 020 8984 9488

General parks enquiries: