Annabel Hobbs
Schoolmistress Annabel's special message.
Well, having enjoyed the day on the beach, I really must do a little schoolmistress information sharing.
These dunes are a very important habitat but have been neglected and abused over the years. The National Trust are working hard to restore the dunes to their more natural state, and increase biodiversity as a result.
Over the past 100 years, Studland’s sand dunes have become over-vegetated and have declined in biodiversity.
Climate change, air pollution and previous overprotective management have all accelerated plant growth and seen our sand dunes slowly turn into heathland and woodland.
In the 1930s about 30 per cent of Studland Bay was bare sand, now it is just two per cent.
The aim of Dynamic Dunescapes is to restore 15 per cent of the land back to bare sand.
Doing so will restore the mosaic landscape of the dunes and hopefully see an increase in rare wildlife that depends on sandy habitats. Species that will benefit from the project include sand lizards, meadow pipits and heath tiger beetles.
Please respect the signage.
It may not always be obvious what it's there for but, as usual, signage is there for a good reason.
Sand lizard habitats are rare in Britain and In the sand lizard's northern populations, such as in Great Britain, it is only able to survive along coastal heathlands where the sand is hot enough to incubate their eggs.
Males are known for their bright colorations and aggressive behaviors when competing for females. Their mating process is unique because of its relatively short time period and because males are generally more selective with who they mate with than females.
So the message is "enjoy the beach, but respect the environment".
Schoolmistress Annabel's special message.
Well, having enjoyed the day on the beach, I really must do a little schoolmistress information sharing.
These dunes are a very important habitat but have been neglected and abused over the years. The National Trust are working hard to restore the dunes to their more natural state, and increase biodiversity as a result.
Over the past 100 years, Studland’s sand dunes have become over-vegetated and have declined in biodiversity.
Climate change, air pollution and previous overprotective management have all accelerated plant growth and seen our sand dunes slowly turn into heathland and woodland.
In the 1930s about 30 per cent of Studland Bay was bare sand, now it is just two per cent.
The aim of Dynamic Dunescapes is to restore 15 per cent of the land back to bare sand.
Doing so will restore the mosaic landscape of the dunes and hopefully see an increase in rare wildlife that depends on sandy habitats. Species that will benefit from the project include sand lizards, meadow pipits and heath tiger beetles.
Please respect the signage.
It may not always be obvious what it's there for but, as usual, signage is there for a good reason.
Sand lizard habitats are rare in Britain and In the sand lizard's northern populations, such as in Great Britain, it is only able to survive along coastal heathlands where the sand is hot enough to incubate their eggs.
Males are known for their bright colorations and aggressive behaviors when competing for females. Their mating process is unique because of its relatively short time period and because males are generally more selective with who they mate with than females.
So the message is "enjoy the beach, but respect the environment".