Moths and Essex farmers breed success
Release Date:
21 Feb 2007
Writtle College's Dr Zoë Ringwood of the Centre for Environment and Rural Affairs (CERA) is working with Essex farmers and Writtle students to secure the future of Fisher's Estuarine Moth, one of Britain's rarest and most highly threatened species.
Fisher's Estuarine Moth is naturally found almost uniquely within the Walton Backwaters area of the North Essex coast. Unfortunately, its survival is endangered by loss of habitat due to rising sea levels. The moth inhabits areas of low-lying coastal grassland where Hog's Fennel, its sole caterpillar food plant, grows. Hog's Fennel is itself a threatened species, despite the fact that it is able to tolerate a range of soil conditions. In addition to this plant, the moth has one other essential habitat requirement: long rank grass on which to lay its eggs.
To ensure the future of Fisher's Estuarine Moth in Essex, a landscape-scale network of sites for the species must be created away from the dangers of flooding. The majority of suitable sites for this important conservation work are located within areas of farmland. A project is being led by Zoë that involves establishing a programme in conjunction with Natural England, which enables specific farmers to receive funding for creating and managing habitat for the moth on their land through the Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) agri-environment scheme.
The project is being funded under the England Rural Development Programme (ERDP) by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund. Other contributors to the project are the Environment Agency, Natural England, Writtle College, the Cambridgeshire and Essex Branch of Butterfly Conservation and Tendring District Council.
A number of Essex farmers have already received HLS agreements that contain prescriptions for the conservation of Fisher's Estuarine Moth. These involve creating habitat through planting Hog's Fennel seedlings into areas of established grassland or drilling a specific grass seed mix and Hog's Fennel seed into cultivated land. Throughout February and March groups of Writtle College students and conservation volunteers will be helping to plant-out thousands of Hog's Fennel seedlings at farms in North Essex as part of the habitat creation programme.
Fisher's Estuarine Moth is naturally found almost uniquely within the Walton Backwaters area of the North Essex coast. Unfortunately, its survival is endangered by loss of habitat due to rising sea levels. The moth inhabits areas of low-lying coastal grassland where Hog's Fennel, its sole caterpillar food plant, grows. Hog's Fennel is itself a threatened species, despite the fact that it is able to tolerate a range of soil conditions. In addition to this plant, the moth has one other essential habitat requirement: long rank grass on which to lay its eggs.
To ensure the future of Fisher's Estuarine Moth in Essex, a landscape-scale network of sites for the species must be created away from the dangers of flooding. The majority of suitable sites for this important conservation work are located within areas of farmland. A project is being led by Zoë that involves establishing a programme in conjunction with Natural England, which enables specific farmers to receive funding for creating and managing habitat for the moth on their land through the Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) agri-environment scheme.
The project is being funded under the England Rural Development Programme (ERDP) by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund. Other contributors to the project are the Environment Agency, Natural England, Writtle College, the Cambridgeshire and Essex Branch of Butterfly Conservation and Tendring District Council.
A number of Essex farmers have already received HLS agreements that contain prescriptions for the conservation of Fisher's Estuarine Moth. These involve creating habitat through planting Hog's Fennel seedlings into areas of established grassland or drilling a specific grass seed mix and Hog's Fennel seed into cultivated land. Throughout February and March groups of Writtle College students and conservation volunteers will be helping to plant-out thousands of Hog's Fennel seedlings at farms in North Essex as part of the habitat creation programme.
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