Milton Creek Country Park: collaborative nature conservation
Explore our impactful work at Milton Creek Country Park, Sittingbourne, a testament to effective management planning built on meaningful community engagement, trusted relationships and working with the recording community.
Effective management planning at Milton Creek Country Park
Our goal for Milton Creek Country Park was to develop a comprehensive management plan, and we successfully achieved this through a collaborative and inclusive process. Working with staff at Swale Borough Council, volunteers at the Milton Creek Country Park Trust, Swale Borough councillors, park users and the wildlife recording community, we could draw on the best possible expertise to create a plan that worked for everybody. We were able to generate plans for managing grassland, woodland and amenity areas that met the needs of both wildlife and the multiple user groups that value the Country Park.
Trusted relationships, tailored solutions
The relationship between White Horse Ecology and Swale Borough Council staff has been built over the last 15 years. This has allowed the management plan to evolve according to the changing needs of the Country Park and the staff that manage this important greenspace. Mapping has been customised and added to online mapping services to allow the ranger to access management mapping on-site when with volunteers and contractors. In addition, the plan has been used to provide a one-stop shop for evidence to support Green Flag judging.
Evidence-based management planning
The habitats and features at Milton Creek Country Park are managed to support specific species groups. This includes ponds managed for the exceptional local Great Crested Newt population, grassland managed for reptiles and bumblebees (including the rare Shrill Carder Bee) and woodland managed for bird populations, including nightingales. The success of these management prescriptions is based on extensive wildlife recording that is both commissioned by the site ranger and carried out by a dedicated volunteer recording group. All of this information is used and processed by White Horse Ecology to ensure that the management plan is providing the best possible habitats for the chosen priority species groups.
Building trust, delivering results
The Milton Creek Country Park management planning process exemplifies White Horse Ecology's dedication to building strong, trust-based partnerships with our clients. Our long-standing relationships are the foundation of our success and enable us to achieve impactful environmental outcomes.