Every year we host a small flock of Shetland sheep. They are at the campsite to graze of the camping meadow during the winter.
The sheep browse some of the scrub vegetation and eat back any excess grass left from the summer. This enables us to manage the whole camping area for wildlife diversity. We keep them out of some areas around the campsite and graze other areas back very hard.
They leave parts of the campsite clear of brambles and other parts are left with plenty of varied vegetation.
This year we chose not to graze the Bank and the Orchard areas of the campsite and to let the scrub encroach a little in these areas. This will encourage in a more diverse range of fauna feeding from the different plants that will become established. People camping in these areas might get to see some more secretive creatures taking advantage of the shelter that this vegetation provides.
The sheep need to be out of the campsite 28 days before we open for camping, so they left last week to head back to Owenas farm where they will be finished prior to heading off to market.
Sussex is a great county for woodland and we let the Shetland sheep graze between our newly planted trees.
No comment yet, add your voice below!