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Adjoining Earles Meadow in North Horsham is a compact and diverse area of maturing natural open space. Thirteen acres in total of which ten are maintained as a conservation area offering a mixture of parkland, meadows, woodland and streams, rich in flora and fauna and a wide variety of habitats. The woodland has areas left wild with some wetland and the meadows have natural springs.

 

  Maintained pathways and boardwalks and bridges give easy access to many parts, so that the natural environment can be enjoyed by the general public, families, dog walkers and youth groups like Guides, Brownies and a Forest School.

 

 Several streams flow through the site providing interest and these watercourses terminate at a culvert running beneath the railway line to ultimately join up with the Chennells Brook.

 

  Around the site there are many examples of fine native trees plus several specimen trees. In the conservation area a wide variety of wildflowers are recorded each year as well as sightings of many and varied visiting and nesting birds, butterflies, small, medium and large mammals, you may well be likely to see grazing deer and red foxes,  invertebrates and reptiles and amphibians around the wet land.

 

  This Public Open Space is owned and maintained by the North Horsham Parish Council as a valuable community asset and the Volunteers of the Earles Meadow Conservation Group meet regularly throughout the year to help to maintain and improve the ten acre conservation area.

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Explore our Open Spaces

This site can be approached easily from different directions, preferably on foot as parking is very limited

Natural pathways meander through the woodland, meadows, alongside the streams and boardwalks cross the wetlands.  Keep a look out for a rich variety of flora and fauna through the seasons.

 

  Dog walkers are welcome providing dogs are kept under control and excrement is bagged and binned in receptacles provided or taken home.

 

  A word of warning, the ground is uneven and can become seasonally wet and slippery.  The space is to be enjoyed by all, so please leave it as you find it, refrain from picking the wildflowers, and the lighting of fires is strictly prohibited.

 

 

Our Wildlife

The EMCG was formed in 2010 and with the help of others ,with specialised expertise, has attempted to record as much wildlife as it was able. It freely admits that there is much more to be discovered particularly so that it can put more effort to provide a better environment and habitats.

 

​Trees

The site contains some fine Oaks a few probably between 100-150 years old, the most special of all being the veteran Oak (English/Sessile hybrid) now fenced off in the Parkland area. This tree, probably over 200 years old, has had surgery and bracing over the years and is currently  being carefully monitored.

 

Ash dieback has taken its toll and in 2023 ninety-two trees were felled in the main wooded area. Some replanting with native trees has been undertaken by EMCG as well as a project to preserve the current stock of self-seeded saplings.

 

There is a fine Alder carr adjacent to the streams, as well as a variety of Hawthorn, Hornbeam, Willow, Hazel, Field Maple, Silver Birch and Cherry.

Also discretely hidden Spindle, Italian Alder, Amelanchier and Alder Buckthorn. With an understorey of Holly, Elder, Rowan, Dogwood, Blackthorn and Guelder Rose.  Even a couple of Conifers.

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Wildflowers

Over 100 different varieties of wildflowers are recorded each year. Over recent years Yellow rattle has been successfully introduced to reduce the influence of the more robust grasses in the meadows and now a project to increase the wildflower seed bank in the soil is being developed.

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Birds

Wildlife photographers have been able to capture a small proportion of the rich birdlife recorded in, over and nesting on the site. From raptors e.g. Buzzards, Red Kite and Sparrowhawks to Song Thrush, Bullfinch, blue and long-tailed Tits, Grey Wagtails, down to the little Wrens. Plus many more.

 

Fungi

Autumn in particular produces some excellent examples of fungi, not yet fully recorded, as well as mosses and lichen

 

Invertebrates

Annual surveys have been carried out by a specialist, recording from 2021, an array of small creatures that have been photographed and identified.

 

Butterflies

Annual records have been maintained with at least 20 different variety of butterfly, regularly seen, plus some dragon and damsel flies.

 

Small/Medium/Large Mammals

Roe Deer, rabbits and foxes are frequently seen. Other small rodents including the Hazel dormouse have been recorded when opportunities have arisen to use traps.

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Reptiles/Amphibians

Common lizards once frequently seen appear to have disappeared and slow-worms are occasionally seen. An abundance of frogs, newts and tadpoles are regularly found in and near the water.

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Gallery

We are immensely grateful to those photographers who have kindly provided us with some of their shots of wildlife taken on the site and have given us permission to reproduce them here for the benefit of the work of the EMCG. These include: Dave Verall, Barry Clough, Peter Simpson and Nasrin Etemadi. Please respect their generosity by not reproducing these images for any other purpose without their specific consent.

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