Help us expand the meadows!

This Thursday we’ll be spreading freshly-cut hay from Copse Meadow onto the newly-established grassland at the western end of the Cornfield. This is a very effective way of introducing wildflower and grass seeds and helps us conserve genetic diversity by making use of local, wild seed sources.

The Cornfield Meadow will help us manage grazing better on the adjoining SSSI, by allowing us to take cattle off the floodplain as soon as the ground becomes too wet or if flooding threatens. It will also expand the area of flower-rich by 1.5 hectares, providing habitat for bees, beetles and bugs in the process. The Copse Meadow already supports the endangered Necklace Ground Beetle and the new grassland will be well within scuttling range for this species.

Hopefully we’ll be unrolling hay bales – always great fun – but we’re at the mercy of the weather and may be spreading loose hay instead. Please join us if you can, from 6.30 pm

I’m afraid the rest of the work parties will then revert to clearing around the tansy plants, ready for the Tansy Beetle re-emergence in late August. Much more needs to be done at the Pond, and by New Meadow and the other new patches to stop them being swamped by cleavers, cow parsley and couch grass. So the one on the evening of Thursday 16 July will be on the New Meadow and probably the one on the 26th will take place at the Pond. The Reservoir Basin pond clearance may, subject to agreement, turn into a daytime session. I’ll let you know about that.

We’ll be in the Cornfield at the north of the site just down from the Rawcliffe & Clifton allotments.

Thanks in advance to all who can help!