Lead Organisation
Project details
Castle Farm Field in Preston Hill Country Park is set for a bold transformation. This project will install a permanent water supply system — the missing piece needed to unlock conservation grazing and reverse decades of ecological decline. With reliable water in place, local grazers will return, letting nature’s own engineers reclaim this threatened chalk grassland from encroaching scrub.
Where invasive growth now chokes rare wildflowers and specialist insects, carefully managed grazing will restore open, species-rich habitat. Every step will catalyse regeneration, creating a thriving ecosystem where biodiversity can flourish and specialist chalkland species can return.
Project location
Castle Farm Field lies within the Kent Downs National Landscape, a key component of the Big Chalk Programme area. Restoring this site strengthens ecological connectivity across the chalk landscape and links it into a broader network of recovered habitats.
Fit with the Big Chalk programme
This project embodies the Big Chalk vision: restoring precious chalk grassland at landscape scale through practical, sustainable action. By controlling scrub, re-establishing grazing, and reconnecting fragmented habitats, Castle Farm Field becomes part of a living network of chalk landscapes resilient to climate change.
It joins forces with wider restoration efforts across Kent and the North Downs, demonstrating how collaborative, targeted interventions can deliver meaningful, long-term impact. Together, these connected habitats build ecological strength and ensure nature can adapt, thrive, and endure.
Wider social and environmental considerations
Beyond the environmental benefits of richer soils, flourishing wildflowers, and thriving pollinators, this project creates opportunities for hands-on learning and community engagement. Monitoring, adaptive management, and site condition surveys will track progress and refine approaches, ensuring every action delivers maximum benefit. Castle Farm Field will not only be restored for wildlife but also become a space where people can connect with nature and witness conservation in action.
The Big Chalk programme and Nature Recovery Fund is funded through the Protected Landscapes Partnership, supported by Defra.
Do you have a project that could strengthen the future of southern England’s iconic chalk and limestone landscapes?
The Big Chalk programme brings together a dynamic suite of partner-led projects, each unique in its focus, area, and partnerships but sharing a commitment to our collective vision.
If your project contributes to the Big Chalk mission, we invite you to register it as a Big Chalk Project. Registered projects gain access to networking, shared learning, and best practice—alongside the Big Chalk brand, boosting your profile and connecting you to a powerful, growing network of partners.
Together, these projects form a united effort to secure the future of southern England’s chalk and limestone landscapes, making a lasting impact for nature and communities.