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December Calendar Day 9 (12 Day: 5): Inspiration & Reveal

Purbeck Heaths

The Purbeck Heaths nature reserve was declared in 2020, bringing three smaller areas of national nature reserve together with areas of the surrounding landscape. The nature reserve spans land across the Purbeck Island area, including Corfe Castle, Arne and Tyneham.

The landscape is a mixture of habitats including low lying wet and dry heathland, acid grasslands, coastal sand dunes and saltmarsh. The land is owned by seven different organisations, coming together to conserve important habitats, wildlife and plants.

One way the land is being conserved is with the annual “pull a pine” Christmas event. This invites members of the public to help cut down pine trees. These pines are invasive and can take over important heathland if they are not removed. It’s a huge job, so inviting the public to help in return for taking home as many Christmas trees as they like allows many more to be removed than otherwise possible.

You can find a huge amount of information about The Purbeck Heaths on the official website.

Images by:
Purbeck Heaths by Becca