The West Sussex Vegetated Shingle Project

The West Sussex Vegetated Shingle Project began in June 1999. Following the publication of the Shingle Habitat Action Plan (HAP) and its targets, English Nature became the major sponsors of the project. The HAP aims to prevent further net loss of the existing vegetated shingle structures and protect existing resource in Sussex in terms of both area and quality of vegetation.

The re-creation of vegetated shingle habitats is being attempted where possible and appropriate. This has given the project the opportunity to restore previously damaged shingle habitats and to create areas of educational value.

26th February 2002 – Workshop on Vegetated Shingle Restoration.

Held at Pagham Harbour, this workshop brought together site managers, coastal defence engineers, ecologists, and researchers to find practical solutions to the problems surrounding restoration of vegetated shingle. The day comprised of a number of presentations followed by a guided visit to Pagham Harbour LNR and an afternoon of group discussions. The result was to give everyone a clear idea of the options available for habitat restoration/creation and to highlight any areas where information or resources are lacking or further research is needed. Proceedings from the day are available on request.

Good Practice Guide for working on Vegetated Shingle beaches.

A good practice guide has been produced for coastal defence engineers and others working on shingle beaches to minimise impact to the wildlife. It lists the various ways that plants and animals may be harmed and suggests preventative measures that should be taken. Where damage is unavoidable, the guide suggests mitigation measures to avoid any net loss of vegetated shingle habitat. A full-colour, waterproof ID card has also been produced to help on-site workers to identify the various vegetated shingle communities. Both the Good Practice Guide and the ID Cards are available on request.

Comment: Information taken from the Web site @ http://www.pebbledash.org.uk/. More details of this project is available via the "Guide to the management and restoration of coastal vegetated shingle".