It’s been a year since Staffordshire Wildlife Trust took on the lease and management of 25 hectares of internationally important lowland heath, owned by Forestry England and located either side of Penkridge Bank Road near ‘The White House’.  

Once restored, this corridor of lowland heath will connect Brindley Heath and Sherbrook Valley. Over the coming years, a series of improvements to the site will allow various birds, reptiles, and invertebrates to move more easily across the heathland landscape. 

Over the autumn and winter of 2024 into early 2025, the Trust’s team of volunteers, staff and contractors have cleared large areas of scrub. Additionally, 4km of fencing has been repaired or replaced to enable cattle to be introduced to the site in May.  

The cattle will graze the area until autumn, reducing the quicker growing grasses and trampling bracken, which will give smaller low growing plants like bilberry and heather a chance to flourish. This will create a mosaic of different plants and small micro habitats, perfect for the small invertebrates that make Cannock Chase their home. 

Scrub clearance work to date has created a more open heathland habitat. While scrub is a very important element of a heathland habitat, if left unchecked it can easily turn into secondary woodland, which would result in the loss of this valuable heathland corridor.  

Hayley Dorrington, Senior Heathland Officer at Staffordshire Wildlife Trust, says:  

“We’ve left select areas of scrub to support various wildlife. A male stonechat can be seen at the top of a gorse bush, calling to hold his territory. Lizards and adders will also use the low-lying scrub as cover, to hide out of sight from soaring buzzards above. We’ve also identified mature birch trees which we’ll leave for the Welsh clear wing - this seldom seen insect needs mature silver birch trees to lay their eggs in. 

“Grazing is an important part of our plan for this site and will enhance the habitat for a variety of wildlife. All visitors are asked to keep dogs on short leads around the livestock and stick to footpaths. This is also important to avoid disturbing ground nesting birds and reptiles - keeping your dog close reduces the risk of adder bites. "These snakes are often well camouflaged among the plants, but they will only bite if they feel threatened.  

“Over winter we’ve also created bare earth scrapes which are vital for solitary bees and insects. If you visit during summer, you might spot one burrowing in the sandy soils to lay her eggs, or you might see a green tiger beetle darting across the bare earth searching for prey. 

“We will continue to work in the heathland corridor this summer with our fantastic volunteers, carrying out vital conservation work like bracken control and cutting back paths to allow visitors to enjoy the site.”