Camilla is a professional botanist who works as Biodiversity Data Officer for Thames Valley Environmental Records.

Her chapter is entitled A look at the Recent Natural History of Blewburton Hill

Chalk grassland is a nationally important habitat for wildlife. Blewburton has a rich diversity of chalk-loving plants, some rare, growing in the small area on the hill.

Why take time to survey plants growing on the hill today? It is a time-consuming exercise. Camilla has observed and recorded a diverse range of species for posterity. She explains that their existence is fragile; many are susceptible to changes in farming practice, trampling and grazing. She believes that we have a duty to ensure that plants growing in this small outcrop of chalk survive into the future. To the people who come after us this present day record will provide valuable information; changes in the balance of species can then be noted and compared with those growing on the hill today.