Combining #HillfortsWednesday and #EarthDay2020 ! Many of our @ChilternsAONB @HeritageFundUK #Chilforts lie in magnificent chalk grassland, a rare habitat type with great ecological value.

(Cowslips on the slopes of Ivinghoe Beacon @AshridgeNT, photo by @Hillfortian)

I reckon about 7 of our Chilterns hillforts have areas of chalk grassland around them, including of course Ivinghoe Beacon, Bucks.

There are some lovely photos of Ivinghoe on @Cambridge_Uni Air Photos e.g.: https://www.cambridgeairphotos.com/location/act38/ 

And we think it looks good in our #LiDAR!

The grassland is created by centuries of grazing poor chalks soils, producing a sward rich in herbs, flowers and grasses often unique to this habitat.

These include the excellently named squinancywort, viper's bugloss, bastard toadflax, and carline thistle.

Grassland soils also sequester carbon, having the highest carbon stock of any UK broad habitat! (UK National Ecosystem Assessment 2011).

It is vitally important that we protect these habitats for their environmental and historic value.

Image: Carline Thistle, © Evelyn Simak