Cannock Chase Council Countryside Service

03/09/2026

Some (maybe) interesting things about our bovine beauties:
🐄 We have a small herd of Dexter cattle, they are a hardy breed and are perfectly suited to outdoor life, especially up on Hednesford Hills.
🐄 They are used to carry out 'Conservation Grazing' which is a land management technique whereby the cattle manage the vegetation. This helps to replicate ancient ways, unfortunately we don't have auroch in this country anymore! (I would totes love an auroch or two).
🐄 The cows disturb the ground with their hooves which benefits a range of other animals including insects, reptiles, birds, and small mammals.
🐄 The way they rip the vegetation with their tongues also helps create different sward (grass) heights which is good for different species of butterflies and moths.
🐄 Our girls have all the food they need, so please don't feed them.
🐄 Cow poo is fab for beetles! Our staff can often be found prodding p**p to look for cool things. That is our excuse and we are sticking to it.
🐄 We don't breed our cows, and we let them live a long, natural life as much as they can. Our oldest lady is Bramble, she is 16 years old!

31/08/2026

Gorgeous autumnal colours coming into the heathland now!! Utterly delightful 😍

27/08/2026

As our lord and saviour Jeff Goldblum once said whilst dressed as Dr Ian Malcom, "life, uh, finds a way."

Fab to see shoots of green emerging from the black following recent fires at Hednesford Hills!

24/08/2026

Monday Funday: Somewhere in this photo there is a cow. First one to find it wins nothing 😉

21/08/2026

Our friends at The Woodland Trust have got a fab opportunity for young people (14-25yrs) to become volunteer wildfire prevention ambassadors!

Take a look at the advert here:

Become a voice for education and prevention of wildfires to protect our wildlife and landscapes.

21/08/2026

19/08/2026

We've recently found some amazing historically ancient artwork on Hednesford Hills, depicting humans trying to corral cattle! Experts are amazed at how long the sticks have survived in situ on a main footpath, and also how the scene manages to capture the unicorn-saintly-like behaviour that we know our Dexters most definitely have.....

18/08/2026

18/08/2026

Sweet, sweet, sweet precipitation!! 😍🌧️ Oh I love how the air smells after the rain. B-e-a-uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu-tiful!!

The lower temperature and the rain however does not mean that the risk of fires has been reduced. "Wildfires" are nearly always (around 95%) caused by human activity. It may be deliberate, it may be arson, it may be pratting around, it may be accidental, it may be "oh I would never do such a thing" - and then leaving a hot metal tray on the dry ground.

Actions have consequences, and those have knock on effects across a wide spectrum of life. Habitat loss, heather just coming into bloom providing a valuable early autumn food source, animal deaths, things that were just starting to have their babies - now all gone.

It also includes the loss of habitat for us. We are not separate from nature. We are not different from animals. We need somewhere to live, and as we've seen recently on the news from Stourbridge and elsewhere, reckless behaviour of a few is now severely disrupting the lives of many.

So PLEASE, please please please PLEASE:
- NO FIRES
- No BBQs
- Take your litter home
- Get off social media and do something positive and constructive with your life.
- Stop doing stuff "for the likes" - be the bigger person. It is honestly cooler and more hip to be kind.

17/08/2026

Job vacancies for Cannock District and Stafford Borough Councils are posted online - there is currently a role within the Grounds Dept (not us!).

Find out more here: