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Wildflower Meadow Regeneration

Species-rich grassland is a sadly endangered thing – since 1950, we’ve lost around 98% of our traditional wildflower meadows. They were not just beautiful and culturally significant, they were a vital habitat for Britain’s wildlife – bees, beetles, butterflies, ground-nesting birds, hares, larks and lots of voles for lots of owls.

All is not lost though – the meadows we still have can provide the means to restore and recreate those that are lost.

This is what Countryfile will be filming at Sweeney Fen Nature Reserve as part of the episode being aired on 22nd August 2021, which you can view here.

Part of the traditional management of meadows is that the grass is cut for hay. Instead of drying the cut grass for winter fodder, we’ll be transferring it fresh to local sites. As the green hay dries, the seed is released and will grow in its new home, providing an enchanting enrichment of the flora.

Meadow management also takes place annually at Lightmoor Nature Reserve in Telford. This years hay was transferred to sites as part of Buglifes BLines project - which will create new habitat networks for insects. 

Lightmoor Nature Reserve meadow cut (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8LeAF-UGwQ)

It sounds splendidly bucolic, doesn’t it? Strewing green hay in the sunshine – what could be more fun? But don’t forget, there’s an awful lot of planning, and hard work too.

Lightmoor hay strewing

Hay strewing at Lightmoor

Green hay strewing can only succeed if the recipient site has been prepared well in advance. Any problem weeds such as docks, thistles and nettles will have been removed, and a short sward created last autumn and spring by grazing livestock, or cutting and scarifying the sites.

The aim is to have 50% bare ground, as the incoming seeds need to touch soil to germinate

The next important thing will be to move the cut hay onto the recipient site as quickly as possible – gathering, transporting and strewing preferably within an hour of cutting, so the donor and recipient sites must be close together – no time to wave your straw bonnet in the air and giggle over a stone bottle of cider!

Once cut and gathered up, the hay will heat up very quickly, which can make the seed infertile. Half a day is the outside limit, so the more helpers the better.

To make sure the seeds are in contact with the soil, once the hay is strewn the site is rolled or livestock put on it. Grazing will be continued through the autumn to prevent competition for the germinating meadow seed

Sweeney Fen

Sweeney Fen Nature Reserve

It might take a while to see the full result of our work – meadow flowers are mostly perennial, many will produce only leaves in the first year, and native orchids can take up to ten years to produce a flowering plant from their tiny dust-like seed.

By the second spring from strewing, though, the first flowers will be appearing and setting seed to continue the recolonisation.

A normal hay cut, wherein the grass is cut and dried on the field with regular turning, allows the seed to fall on site, so the density of wildflowers will increase with every harvest. As the flora develops, wildlife will colonise the site and before long it will be brimming with buzzing, crawling, flying and fluttering life.

Ongoing management is essential, it will all take a while, but a fully restored wildflower meadow is truly a thing of beauty, and well worth working and waiting for!

Meadow

(c) Andy Bartlett

Dr Cath Price

Shropshire Wildlife Trust

How you can help

As a charity we rely on memberships. They help us look after over 2,300 nature reserves and protect the animals that call them home. Please consider becoming a member of your local Wildlife Trust today.

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