Conservationists are making hay while the sun shines this summer in a bid to restore precious wildflower meadows in Norfolk.
Green hay has been cut from the Roadside Nature Reserve that was chosen as Norfolk’s contribution to the
Coronation Meadows project. The hay, which includes seeds of the nationally scarce sulphur clover, was then supplied to farmland sites in South Norfolk to restore and recreate new meadows.
The hay cutting is a joint effort by Norfolk Wildlife Trust (NWT), the County Council who look after the Roadside Nature Reserve, and Farm Conservation who have worked with farmers to find suitable sites that will benefit from the seed. The project is supported by generous funding from Biffa Award, plus NWT and Norfolk Biodiversity Partnership.
‘Green hay’ is cut when there is a high proportion of the seeds in the flower heads. It will have a wider variety of seeds in it than a seed mix and as it is being kept local, increases the chance of the seeds colonising.
It was cut using a brush cutter, transported to the new sites and then spread within a couple of hours. This will maintain the viability of the seeds. At the new sites, the green hay was spread thinly and evenly and then bedded in to increase the chance of the seeds germinating.
The process was carried out for the first time last year. The hay was taken to a new meadow being created in Wreningham and it worked: there is now a new meadow developing there.
Wood Lane Roadside Nature Reserve near Long Stratton in Norfolk dates back to at least 1944 and supports a range of threatened species typical of south Norfolk clay grasslands. These include the nationally scarce sulphur clover – a species now largely restricted to road verges in south Norfolk – as well as pepper saxifrage, dyer’s greenweed and cowslips.
The site was crowned a ‘Coronation Meadow’ in 2013 as part of a nationwide project devised by HRH The Prince of Wales. The project’s aim is to identify sites within each county where green hay and seed from the Coronation Meadow can be used to restore or recreate new meadows.
Conservation Officer for Norfolk Wildlife Trust, Helen Baczkowska said: “Creating new sites for threatened meadow species in less vulnerable locations has been something Norfolk Wildlife Trust has been hoping to achieve for some years. This project is part of NWT’s work in the
Norfolk Claylands Living Landscape area. It is a practical way to turn the tide of habitat loss; wild flower grasslands are one of the most beautiful and diverse habitats in Britain and it is exciting to think of all the new sites being created under the Coronations Meadow project.”
Henry Walker from Farm Conservation said: “Our Roadside Nature Reserves hold some of the last remnants of fragile plant communities which once would have been widespread before agricultural improvement. They are a highly valuable resource and with careful management and co-operation between land owners and conservation organisations, they can be used to restore these rare plant communities back into the wider countryside.”