New Film Celebrates the Precious Landscape of Cannock Chase with TV Presenter Mike Dilger. By Adam Colclough
📷 TV Presenter, Mike Dilger.
A new film made by Sustainability Matters Stafford who secured a bid with Cannock Chase AONB Sustainable Development Fund to support making a short film about the Chase, features naturalist, author and TV presenter Mike Dilger who is best known for his work on the BBC’s ‘The One Show’.
Mike Dilger has appeared on television and radio for more than a decade. He is the author of several books including Nightingales in November and My Garden and Other Animals; he also writes articles for several natural history magazines.
Mike, who has known Cannock Chase since his childhood praises the precious landscapes of Cannock Chase commented:
“Since the 1800’s the UK has lost 80% of its lowland heath, and that much of what remains has been degraded and fragmented.”
He goes on to say, that this makes lowland heathland perhaps the most precious of all the habitats the Chase has to offer.
In 2019 Special Area of Conservation (SAC) warned that unless action was taken urgently much of its wildlife and unique habitat would vanish in thirty to forty years.
Among the problems faced by the site are the erosion of footpaths, habitat fragmentation, invasive plants, habitat enrichment (lowland heath thrives on poor acidic soils), wildlife disturbance, littering, spreading of plant diseases. As visitor numbers increase, the huge pressure on the Chase and the rangers who work there grows every year.
The Special Area of Conservation proposals were passed in February this year, which is great news for Cannock Chase visitors and wildlife. The Chase will benefit from an estimated £7.8M budget created from a building levy of houses built within a 17km radius of the Chase.
The plans include closing 51 of 123 lay-bys and car parks, with 33 of the closure locations being lay-bys that hold four vehicles or less. Changes to car parks comes in at approximately 20% of the projected £7.8m fund. The remaining 80% of the program is to support education, awareness raising, engagement, trails, signs and facilities, delivery, and monitoring.
Alongside this, there is also a Natural England budget to implement conservation grazing, using livestock to manage heathland. The pilot scheme at Moors Gorse is just about ready to start. While it is called a ‘pilot scheme’, this is not a trial, as conservation grazing is proven to work and is used by many wildlife organisations and councils nationwide. This pilot scheme is to show the public how conservation grazing works, and to give people a chance to meet the livestock.
All these new and forward thinking plans will help to improve biodiversity, and protect the unique habitat of the chase for future generations to enjoy.
Speaking about protecting Cannock Chase, Tony Pearce of Sustainability Matters Stafford said:
“We are in a biodiversity crisis and we need to recognise the impacts we have on nature and enjoy it responsibly. A new report from the RSPB, using data compiled by the Natural History Museum reported that the UK is listed as the worst in the G7 for the amount of wildlife and wild spaces lost due to human activity, resulting in the UK being ranked twelfth worst of 240 countries and territories. We need to be prepared to change our habits a little, so nature can thrive. We must think of future generations and leave the natural world in a better way than we found it.”
North Staffs Green Party supported organisation ‘For the Love of Cannock Chase’ in their efforts to get the truth out to the public about the SAC proposals having conservation at the heart of the issue, a message that was being sadly missed over social media.
‘For the Love of Cannock Chase’ spokesperson commented:
“Protecting Cannock Chase is hugely important in our efforts locally to help nature recover, while we look to expanding natural habitats for wildlife, which also is an essential part of lowering carbon. People from Staffordshire and beyond have enjoyed the Chase for many years, perhaps not understanding the danger it is in. It is a vital reserve for our hard pressed nature and we fully support the SAC partnership and Staffordshire County Council to protect it for future generations to enjoy.”
Green Parties across Staffordshire are also involved in ongoing campaigns to protect other threatened green spaces including Keele Golf Course and Berryhill Fields.
🎥 Watch the film now ››