A small, traditional cache hidden on the slopes of Levin Down
LOCAL INFORMATION
What's in a name?
Levin Down is derived from old English meaning 'Leave-Alone Hill'. At one time this probably related to the steepness of the hill making it impractical for ploughing or other intensive agriculture. However, whilst bad for the local agricultural economy, this fact means that Levin Down is rich in biodiversity.
Habitats and their associated species.
Much of Levin Down comprises of chalk grassland, a nationally rare and important habitat found on the calcareous soils of the downs. Being nutrient poor, plants of these habitats have evolved to compete for certain resources, resulting in a large diversity over the site. Levin down is particularly rich in characteristic chalk grassland flowers such as wild thyme, fairy flax and lady's tresses orchids. These flowers in turn provide a rich nectar and larval food resource for a wide variety of butterflies, and species such as brown hairstreak, green hairstreak and chalkhill blues can be see flitting over the hill in the sunshine. Possibly one of the most interesting features of Levin Down, is that it consists of areas of chalk heath, an exceptionally rare habitat formed where a thin layer of acid soil was blown onto and settled on a calcareous substrate. This leads to the somewhat odd sight of acid-loving plants such as heather growing next to alkaline-loving plants.
Past and present land use.
Whilst Levin Down escaped intensive agricultural use, rabbits were once reared on the site for their fur and meat, in an artificial warren known as a 'pillow mound'. Today cattle and sheep graze the site, primarily to help mange scrub encroachment and maintain the floral diversity of the site. Levin Down formed part of a recent large scale 'Nature Improvement Area' project, aiming to restore and enhance chalk grassland habitat throughout Sussex.