Chalk grassland
Chalk grassland habitats have a rich biodiversity which supports the greatest botanical diversity in the UK, with up to 40 species of flowering plants per square metre. This habitat has been in decline through changing methods of grazing management as well as development and intensification of agriculture.
I have grown plants to replicate a chalk wildflower habitat and used these in my work. I also accompanied local scientists and conservation groups monitoring bumblebee populations, counting butterflies and collecting chalk grassland seeds.
At the Booth Museum of Natural History I photographed specimens relevant to this habitat. The Museum holds many historic collections of insects and plants collected from the same chalk grassland locations that I have visited.
Natural history museum's collections are often used today for research to compare species from the past to ones found at the same location today. This gives an indication of any changing climate or changes in land use.
