Grass
Regular Maintenance of the BWT land includes mowing, which is done by volunteers on Tuesdays and Wednesdays between March and October. The aim of the regular cutting has not just been to keep the site looking neat and tidy, although we aim to provide easy access to all our sponsored trees. It has, right from the outset, been carried out with the intention of improving the grassland for wildlife. After years of neglect, the grass was full of weeds, such as ragwort, thistles, and tall, vigorous grasses like false oat and cocksfoot, so that delicate wildflowers had little chance of surviving and had all but given up growing. Ragwort is harmful to animals, so no farmer would take our hay. In 2006 BWT bought a tractor, trailer and mower in order to reduce the need to employ contractors to cut grass and do other heavy work. New volunteers for our workparties are always welcome. For further information please phone Dave Johnson (730321), Jeff Winn (730447), David Ward (737133) or email them.
Sharon Bayne, a specialist in land management and ecological restoration, who is the Environment and Conservation Adviser for BWT, has provided most of the information on this page, and she welcomes questions by email.
Woodland Flowers (please do not pick them!)
Spring is the time when woodland flowers appear, as they need to flower before the shade of the trees becomes too dark. Everyone is familiar with bluebells, but there are some other special plants on BWT land which only grow in ancient woodland. Some of them are very tiny, and will take some hunting out; try searching near the Lilk bridge. Photographs of these flowers can be seen by Friends in BWT newsletter No.16, or consult you own wildflower book. We shall also try to provide photographs on this site.
Wandering Wetland Plants in 2009
Sharon was puzzled, in the summer of 2009, to see a wide array of wetland species usually found on the margins of ponds growing on the very dry bank under the hawthorn trees alongside the new sloping path to the Lilk bridge. The reason was that those plants had been artificially moved twice; first when the lake was dredged in the 1990s, and second when the spoil of that dredging was moved even further away from the lake to make the paths in 2008. Sharon says that the plants, which miraculously sprang into life as their seeds were exposed, will not survive long in such dry soil, but perhaps we shall see them further down. The photograph below was taken near the bridge in April 2010.The Wildflower Trial Area, sown in Autumn 2007
A trial area of the grassland near the Church Landway entrance was sown with a wildflower which includes vetches, knapweed, red clover for the bees and a special plant called yellow rattle. This little yellow flower is actually a parasite and helps suppress the growth of the grass, which allows more space for the wildflowers to grow. If it is successful it will be tried elsewhere on the site.Cutting the Grass
It is a popular misconception that nature will find its own way and does not need interference. In fact, this is not true at all when it comes to caring for grassland sites. The natural habitat of the British Isles is woodland and, left to its own devices, grassland will inevitably revert to woodland. First the grass will become coarser and taller, and the flowers will be swamped. Then the brambles and nettles appear, the scrub grows and, before you know it, there is no grassland at all.
After five years of careful management, all the hard work is starting to pay off. We have encouraged more delicate grasses such as sweet vernal grass and timothy as well as nectar-producing flowers, which will be buzzing with insects such as spiders, grasshoppers and caterpillars, and therefore better for sustaining bird life. Although it is unlikely that a wide variety of wildflowers will come back by themselves, the grass is now in a condition more favourable for them to flourish in. The intensive regime of grass-cutting of the last few years can now be relaxed. More areas will have the grass left longer, having just one haycut in the summer, but the areas under the trees will be cut regularly to let them continue to establish.
Some areas will be left untouched, for example around the edge of the site in areas where there is no ragwort to seed back in, thus giving hibernating places for insects whilst the intensive management is underway. The grassland will also be monitored every year to ensure that the management techniques are having the desired effect and to allow for alteration, if necessary.
