Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) are some of England’s most remarkable natural places. With over 4,100 sites across the country, they showcase the very best of our wildlife, habitats, and geology - collectively covering around 1.1 million hectares (about 8% of England). Owning a SSSI woodland is a special opportunity. As a custodian of one of these nationally important areas, you play a meaningful part in protecting and enhancing our natural heritage for generations to come. Many owners find this a rewarding way to connect more deeply with their land and its wildlife.  Beyond their conservation value, SSSIs can also offer quiet places for recreation, provide opportunities for scientific study, and deliver wider benefits such as clean water, flood management, carbon storage, and pollination. Because of their importance, some activities on SSSIs need to be carefully managed. The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 sets out a list of operations that require consent from Natural England before going ahead—such as tree work, drainage changes, or certain types of recreational activity. Most owners find the process straightforward, and it helps ensure that any work supports the special features of the site. More guidance is available at Sites of special scientific interest: managing your land - GOV.UK When purchasing land, conveyancing checks will normally confirm whether it lies within a SSSI. You can also explore this yourself via the MAGIC map system, and further information about individual sites is available at designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk. Natural England is there to help. Through good management advice, and tailored guidance, they work alongside landowners to support positive management and help sites deliver for nature recovery. Open communication is encouraged, as is collaboration with neighbouring landowners—particularly for larger-scale matters such as deer or squirrel management. Many traditional woodland practices, including coppicing, natural regeneration, and managing invasive species, fit well with SSSI conservation and are often recommended. Some protected features may be less visible, such as fungi or particular bird communities, but the focus is on looking after the habitats that support them. Although caring for a SSSI may feel like a responsibility at first, it can be hugely rewarding. Owners frequently enjoy the sense of purpose, connection to nature, and contribution to biodiversity. Support, advice, and in many cases grant or stewardship options are available—meaning even small woodland owners can make a real and lasting positive difference. Adrian Jowitt  Principal advisor on woodland policy, Natural England.

The last century saw the destruction of many hedgerows, particularly in farming areas like East Anglia.  The logic behind this was : to increase field size and  allow ease of access of machinery, like combine harvesters that were coming available at that time.   Whilst the loss of the hedgerows and the associated wildlife is well documented, the loss of ponds during this time has not attracted the same level of attention.  Many hundreds of ponds were filled in, to give a few more metres of arable land.  The whereabouts of some of these ponds can sometimes be found on old ordnance survey maps.  Many were located on farmland and their origins may extend back centuries to when they were created as marl or clay pits, sometimes for the watering of livestock.  Some were formed in depressions (pingos) left after the last ice age. There are still  thousands of ponds across the UK but many are polluted to a greater or lesser extent, or drained.  The pollution may be associated with the the surrounding land use or agricultural runoff. Runoff may take the form of nitrates / phosphates from the use of fertilisers.  In freshwater systems, these nutrients can cause eutrophication. Other agricultural chemicals may enter ponds and water courses - insecticides, fungicides, herbicides etc. Consequently, out of the thousands of ponds, only a very small number provide a suitable habitat for pond organisms such as the medicinal leech.  Leeches are rarely found for the reasons cited above but also because, as agriculture became more mechanised and less reliant on ‘animal power’ [horses, oxen], the ponds  (or wetlands) are no longer visited by these animals, which leeches would have fed on.  Leeches used to be abundant, but their number declined when their use in blood letting was largely abandoned, and their natural habitats were drained or damaged.  The medicinal leech is one of the largest leeches found in the UK, it can grow to a length of ten centimetres, and may have stripes / patterns on its body.  Some of the ponds that are home to medicinal leeches have been designated  Sites of Special Scientific Interest.  Since historic times, the extraction of blood by leeches was deemed to be a ‘healing process’ for patients. This practice of hirundotherapy / bloodletting spread widely and the collection of leeches resulted in the over-exploitation of many populations.  The leeches were used widely in the treatment of many conditions and  diseases such as cholera, regardless of whether or not they were effective.  At one stage, leeches were in such demand that there were ‘leech farms’, and  people could earn a living as leech collectors.  Indeed, so commonplace was leech collection that Wordsworth wrote about it in his poem Resolution and Independence : “He told, that to these waters he had come To gather leeches, being old and poor: Employment hazardous and wearisome! And he had many hardships to endure: From pond to pond he roamed, from moor to moor; Housing, with God’s good help, by choice or chance; And in this way he gained an honest maintenance.” Although the use of medicinal leeches was discredited and virtually abandoned for many decades, they are medically effective in certain circumstances.  The leeches produce a saliva which  contains a number of different proteins. These help the leech to feed by keeping the blood from clotting, and actually increasing blood flow to the leech at the point of attachment.  Some of these proteins act as anticoagulants (notably hirudin),   It is also possible that the saliva contains an 'anaesthetic / antiseptic' as leech bites are generally not painful. These leeches have now found a use in microsurgery.  They are used to stimulate the circulation in tissues which experience post-operative congestion.  They are helpful in finger reattachment and reconstructive surgery of the ear, nose, lip, and eyelid. The creation of a network of new or restored freshwater ponds across the landscape will be needed if natural populations of the leech are to expand. 

There are six species of deer to be found in the U.K. – two of which are considered native – Roe Deer and Red Deer.  The other species, Sika, Chinese Water Deer and Muntjac have been introduced in the last 150 years – and the Fallow deer is often accepted as part of our natural heritage as it was introduced back in the 11th Century. The range of Roe Deer (Capreolus capreolus) has extended considerably in the last 40 years, as have the numbers of Roe Deer.   The natural predator of the Roe Deer is the lynx, but this does not exist in the wild in the U.K – so the population has had one control on its numbers removed.  Read more...