HEATHLAND near Hartley Wintney has a new protector.
The RSPB has installed Isabel Morgan, above, as its first project officer for Hazeley Heath, which is a haven for ground-nesting birds such the nightjar and woodlark.
The conservation charity received a £859,900 lottery grant to buy 110 hectares of Hazeley Heath from the Timpany Trust. The purchased land lies within Mattingley parish, while Hart District Council maintains the southern part of the heath in the Hartley Wintney parish.
Miss Morgan, originally from Kent, joins the project from the Orkney Islands, where she has been an RSPB warden for the last nine months.
She will work to improve the condition of the heath, which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
She said: “Coming back to the south of England to work on heathland feels a little like coming home.
“There is so much to these surviving patches of wilderness in the south of England which goes beyond the habitat and the wildlife.”
Miss Morgan has started holding events to introduce people in Hartley Wintney to the RSPB and Hazeley Heath.
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