www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

I'm on the local parish council where I live in sunny Hampshire, and I have now been given the job of looking after a seven acre playing field. Most of the seven acres is quite barren as wild life goes, but my groundsman has said that he would like to make a couple of wild areas , I thought I was the only person who cared. The other project is quite a major one, the local primary school are planing to convert an area the size of a football pitch into a wild meadow. I was wondering should I contact my local BC branch, as this may be something that they would like to get involved in.


Gruditch

Hi Gruditch,

Projects like this are heartening really, especially on the back of the other local doom and gloom stories that we have touched upon recently. It kind of restores ones faith a little!

I would be inclined to contact the county wildlife trust for their advice. I know that back-in-the-day creating wild areas was as simple as over-sowing with a commercially produced 'wild flower seed mixture', but in these more enlightened times this method is not necessarily considered best practise. The reason being that such commercial mixes often contain seed that is a commercial fodder crop or similar and is not necessarily british in origin. Such plants can have an adverse affect upon local flora once the seed spreads.

A far preferable method (although more time consuming to establish) is to scatter hay cut from a local species rich area (of similar soil type etc.) over ground that is suitably prepared (eg:chain harrow). That way the resulting species mixture is as close to 'natural' as possible and compatible with the local flora and environment as a whole.

Individual plants of specific species could be grown from carefully sourced seed and transplanted into the 'meadow', this in turn could also provide a good classroom project (if todays litigious society will allow school children to undertake such a high risk exercise ).

Lastly, if considering planting a tree or two it would again be prudent to try to ensure that the tree has been grown from native stock. It's ironic that so many of the recent well meaning (but ultimately fairly pointless) 'woodland creation' projects have used trees of continental stock that wouldn't be found in native woodland.

What a great idea though, your local primary school are to be commended, and a project like this is a great hands-on way for young kids to get involved with conservation.

Let us know how it goes...

Felix.

I have been looking at ways of creating wild flower area`s on my plot at work, my problem is that the ground is so fertile grass just takes over, i have dug a small plot around 7m by 3m and i am currently turning the soil upside down, eg subsoil on top of the topsoil, it should be interesting to see if a wildflower seed mix will do better than previous attempts. Steve.

roundwood123 wrote:my problem is that the ground is so fertile grass just takes over.

Have you tried planting yellow rattle with a wild flower mix?* Apparently it suppresses the growth of grass, allowing less competitive species to flourish... seems a little easier than digging a great big hole!

*As recommended in BBC Wildlife magazine at some point last year!

Cheers, Chris

Thanks for the tip Chris, i will have a go at planting some Yellow Rattle seed and we will see what the results are, i work with people who have learning difficulties many of whom enjoy physical work so digging a big hole is actually quite good fun, it keeps me fit to. Steve

For suppliers of seeds, plant plugs and even trees you could consult this website: http://www.floralocale.org/

They list suppliers of seeds, plants etc. that are all native and locally sourced. So for example if you were planning on creating a wild flower meadow in Northants, Flora Locale lists specialists who can supply native seed, plants and seed mixes that are sourced from Northants! Flora Locale also produce a set of guidance notes and best practise. It's an interesting site...

It is becoming increasingly important that seeds and plants for any project are correctly sourced and not just any old 'wildflower seed mix' which may contain foreign and sometimes particularly invasive species. Botanical projects need to be just as carefully planned as the introduction of butterfly species.

I'm not preaching it's just really important and a lot of well meaning projects to date have done far more harm than good.

Felix.

I get my seeds from Nickys Nursery: http://www.nickys-nursery.co.uk/seeds/p ... QgodtCGV3A seems like a good place for wild seeds, even chickweed they sell too. Wildflowers http://www.nickys-nursery.co.uk/seeds/pages/wild.htm

I got reciently:

Common spotted orchid, Butterbur, Devils bit scabious, honesty, corncockle and a few more.

There is an area my dad is digging out and we ant to replant it with wildflowers and plants to attract the local butterflies.

Hi Gruditch,

A couple of books worth reading on meadow creation are Pam Lewis, Making Wildflower Meadows, and Andrew George, The Butterfly Friendly Garden. Both recommend removing the topsoil which takes away the most fertile layer of soil. On the sort of scale you are suggesting for these projects you will need earth-moving equipment - as both projects are community-related it ought to be possible to get grants to cover some of, if not all, the costs. The topsoil can be sold or used to form the base of a south-facing bank; this can be faced with chalk and sown with a different mix which will give you a second habitat on the site. If you have populations of Small Blue nearby, these are enthusiastic colonists of such banks. The north side of the bank could be planted with hedgerow shrubs such as Blackthorn. One day the children might be able to do searches for Brown Hairstreak eggs there.

Cheers Matsukaze, I've got a digger


Gruditch

Gruditch wrote:Cheers Matsukaze, I've got a digger

Gwynhwfyr?

You mean Gynwentener She dug me pond out

I can't believe you put that picture up.

I not digging any more holes!