The Stepping Stones Project overview

Charlie Bell

What is Stepping Stones?

Stepping Stones is a landscape-scale nature conservation project. The project area covers more than 200 km² within the Shropshire Hills AONB, stretching from the Stretton Hills in the west to the Stiperstones ridge in the east. The aim of the project is to restore or create ‘stepping stones’ and corridors of wildlife habitat between the two core sites of Long Mynd and the Stiperstones, and beyond. This means creating or improving areas of heathland, flower-rich grasslands and broadleaved woodland, and linking them by a network of wildlife-rich hedgerows, road verges, hillsides and streamside wetlands. Stepping Stones has been over twenty years in development, with a range of partners working together including the NFU, CLA, Natural England, DEFRA, Shropshire Hills AONB Partnership, Shropshire Wildlife Trust and Middle Marches Community Land Trust. Most importantly in this agricultural landscape, we have the support of a reference group of local farmers who are highly engaged with the project. Stepping Stones is currently led by the National Trust, who have secured funding to employ two project staff: Andrew Hearle and Charlie Bell.

Why is Stepping Stones needed?

For centuries traditional, low intensity livestock farming created a beautiful landscape in south Shropshire, with a wealth of natural features and

wildlife. However, the difficulties of farming with poor soils, harsh weather and challenging market conditions, coupled with the current system of grants and subsidies, have brought about changes that have negatively impacted the landscape and its wildlife. Some areas of habitat have been lost completely; others have been damaged or reduced in size. Many linking features such as hedgerows, road verges, field trees and streams have also been destroyed, isolating the remaining habitat patches. The Long Mynd and the Stiperstones have become cut off from each other ecologically. The effect of these changes is that many species such as Dormouse Muscardinus avellanarius, Curlew Numenius arquata, Mountain Pansy Viola lutea and Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary Boloria selene are in decline or have been lost completely from the area. The area’s mosaic of upland and lowland habitats means it will also be on the frontier of climate change. We anticipate seeing existing species moving north and uphill, with new species migrating in from the south and the lowland. This makes the need for connectivity within the landscape more important, to facilitate these movements and prevent extinctions.

Working with farmers

The future of the Shropshire Hills depends on thriving farms which produce high quality food and take care of the landscape. We are working with local farmers to explore ways of managing the land that create a healthy natural environment, restore the characteristic landscape of the area and increase wildlife as an integral part of a profitable farm business. If the approach is a success, it will influence Government’s thinking about future approaches to payment schemes and farm planning that support farmers in delivering sustainable environmental outcomes (‘Environment Land Management (ELM) schemes’).

Working with local communities

To be successful we also need to work closely with the communities who live and work within the project area, as well as with those who visit for outdoor recreation. We are trialling approaches to community volunteering on farms as well as in the wider landscape. The Stepping Stones programme is supporting and building on the good work of established local community groups such as the Marches Meadow Group, Restoring Shropshire’s Verges, Caring for God’s Acre, four local community wildlife groups, Butterfly Conservation and Shropshire Dormouse Group. These groups are undertaking environmental work that enhances the quality, quantity and connectedness of wildlife habitats within the Shropshire Hills. Stepping Stones is helping these groups extend their reach and impact. We also work closely with the Middle Marches Community Land Trust, who have ambitions to acquire and manage several key ‘stepping stones’ within the project area. There is a lot of momentum and existing activity within the project area, being delivered by many different organisations and individuals including statutory bodies, NGOs, community groups, landowners and volunteers. There is a need to coordinate this activity and ensure that duplication is minimised. To be most effective for nature these efforts must complement each other and contribute towards a strategic vision for the landscape – this coordination is a key role for the Stepping Stones project.

Meadows and verges

Neutral grassland is a target habitat for the project. Stepping Stones works closely with the Marches Meadow Group to help facilitate meadow creation and hay meadow management. In 2020, this included funding the purchase of mowing, baling and seed collecting equipment, running volunteer

Green hay before being collected and spread at a new meadow site (Charlie Bell)

Ratlinghope churchyard in July 2020, a valuable Stepping Stone (Charlie Bell)

work parties to collect and distribute green hay from species-rich meadows to be spread on new meadow sites, and providing yellow rattle seed to help reduce the vigour of coarse grasses and allow finer grasses and flower species to thrive. The National Trust is also directly managing various meadow stepping stones in the project area, at Ragleth, Jinlye and Asterton. Our vision is for these local meadows to be linked by a series of linear wildflower meadows – along the area’s road verges! The Restoring Shropshire’s Verges Project (RSVP) has made great progress in the last 12 months, appointing a committee and agreeing a constitution, developing a social media presence, producing a film about the area’s verges, liaising with Shropshire Council and agreeing changes to a late summer ‘cut and collect’ regime along 10km of verges in south Shropshire. In addition, with the help of equipment funded through Stepping Stones, RSVP now manage a series of ‘demonstration verges’ throughout the area. These verges have an ongoing monitoring regime to track progress as they become more floristically diverse. Look out for RSVP’s ‘Don’t Mow let it Grow’ signs in south Shropshire!

More information

To find out more about Stepping Stones, or to get involved, please email project officer Charlie Bell (charlie.bell@nationaltrust.org.uk) or visit the project website: nationaltrust.org.uk/cardingmill-valley-and-the-long-mynd/features/steppingstones-project