Member Article

Conservation grazers head to Longhorsley

Anybody passing Longhorsley Moor this summer should keep their eyes peeled for a sheep and ponies on the site.

For the foreseeable future, four Exmoor ponies from the Moorland Mounsie Trust and 26 soay sheep will be grazing on the land as part of a programme to supplement the culling of the birch scrub on the site. This latest venture is part of a long relationship between Longhorsley Parish Council and the Flexigraze conservation-grazing scheme which is a partner of Northumberland Wildlife Trust.

There are approximately 25 hectares of lowland heathland in Northumberland, which represents less than 0.05% of the UK total. The only extensive example of this habitat in the county is found at Longhorsley Moor, hence the need for conservation grazing rather than traditional methods of birch control.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Northumberland Wildlife Trust .