Adrian Thomas, #SaveLodgeHill project manager, takes you into the unseen landscape of Lodge Hill
We are asking you to help #SaveLodgeHill, but you’re probably wondering, "What does the place look like?"
Well, in November, the authorities in charge of Lodge Hill, to their credit, agreed to let me have access to the site, with photographer and cameraman. And today they’ve given us permission to share them.
This and the other photographs of the secret world of Lodge Hill and credited to Jodie Randall rspb-images.com
Lodge Hill is a former military training ground, tucked out of sight in a sheltered valley behind a very long, very high security fence. Our visit required a serious safety induction because of the unexploded ordnance still being found all over the site.
There is a bit of Lodge Hill you can see from a public right of way - abandoned army buildings and car park. To me it looks like an empty secondary school from the 1980s. I understand that if that was all you saw, if that was the only place you were taken to, you might think that this is a suitable place for development.
However, once you get beyond that, in the private part of the site, a long road leads in a straight line for almost a mile in front of you. Either side of that, the human eye might get drawn to the odd brick shed and a strange mock-up of part of a Belfast street, but all I could see was acre after acre after acre of bushes and woods and wildflower margins. It is like a forgotten world.
On my November visit, all the Nightingales were of course a few thousand miles away in Africa, but nevertheless I got a sense of why this might be so good for them when so much of our country is so poor. They like damp, warm habitats with lots of bushes but where there is chance to forage safely on the floor for their favourite food – beetles and ants.
Here at Lodge Hill, with very little disturbance and so much habitat, the Nightingales have been able to thrive, as have the Badgers, bats and a host of rare invertebrates.
It is interesting to think that all those years when the site was about our national defence that, in effect, it also defended an important piece of our natural heritage as well – what turned out to be a very important piece indeed!
So here is a privileged glimpse of Lodge Hill in November; over to you to imagine what it looks like in spring when the leaves are green, the May blossom is out and the Nightingales are singing! And we’ll show you some film footage next week...
How can you help?
We need as many people to stand up for Lodge Hill as possible by 10 April latest.
Respond to the consultation: Complete the easy online action. But if at all possible, please write a fuller response to the consultation instead. You can find useful information on how to do this here.
On social media: Follow #SaveLodgeHill on Twitter and Facebook. Every retweet, share and new account you tag helps us to reach as many people as possible before the consultation closes on 10th April.