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2014
Cutting and raking
7th December
A cold, sunny morning after showers saw about nine of us working in the meadow. A few tackled the hedge-laying but most people continued trimming the town-end of the hedge, plus clearing the undergrowth from around our trees in the top corner, raking and removing it to allow the primroses and cowslips to see the light so that they can flower in the Spring.
Working on the hedge
2nd November
There was plenty of help with the tasks this morning. One group continued with hedge-laying: we are slowly working our way from the 'out of town' end of our native-species hedge that we planted about 10 years ago. It seems to grow well after our work, despite what looks like harsh treatment, chopping and bending it down. Nearer town another group cut the top of the hedge to prevent it turning into a line of trees before the hedge-laying team reaches that part. Another task, as usual, was a walk all round the meadow litter-picking.
We are hosting new residents in the meadow
12th October
Slow worms ! There has been the occasional sighting of this legless lizard in the meadow but next year there may be many more sightings. Ecologists working for a developer in another part of Chippenham chose the field as suitable habitat for reptiles that were being displaced due to new housing. First the ecologists built three hibernacula (winter homes of rubble, wood and earth piled up in quiet corners - see the Gallery for a photo) and then they translocated about 70 slow worms into them in the last few months. Keep your eyes open for them next spring and summer, basking in the morning sun to warm up ready for foraging on various invertebrates.
Another 1000 wildflower plants in the meadow
5th October
In the space of 10 days from the 22nd September we planted over 1000 plug plants into the meadow. They included over 400 cowslips, 150 Bird's-foot Trefoil, 120 Black Knapweed and ten other species. The task day on the following Sunday was spent washing all the empty pots and trays! We look forward to plenty of colour next spring and summer.
After the hay-cut
7th September
The hay has been cut, baled and removed by the farmer. So we have been busy raking the bits that didn't make it into the bales - that's quite a job for the whole field. All the plug plants that were grown from last year's seed have needed trimming and weeding, and are now ready to be planted into the meadow.
Enjoying the sunshine while collecting seeds
3rd August
Several members of the group spent a pleasant morning collecting wildflower seeds from the meadow, mowing the paths and various other tidying tasks around the meadow. The seeds are from the plants that we grew from seed collected in the field in past years. Species we saw today included Small Tortoiseshell, Common Blue, Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Small Copper, a young Robin and Banded Demoiselles.
Lots of butterflies counted !
22nd July
Michael did a Butterfly Count in the meadow this morning and saw a total of 144 Butterflies of 14 species ! This is very encouraging - do go and have a look round the meadow !
Small Skipper 18
Large Skipper 8
Small White 2
Green-veined White 4
Common Blue 10
Small Copper 1
Small Tortoiseshell 2
Comma 3
Peacock 7
Red Admiral 1
Marbled White 10
Gatekeeper 9
Meadow Brown 60
Ringlet 9
Also Six-spot Burnet Moth 2
Tidying up
6th July
This month's tasks have been tidying the paths around the meadow and along our new hedge. This has involved trimming back overhanging brambles, stinging nettles and tree branches, plus some mowing of the paths.
We leave various areas to the nettles, which are host to caterpillars of several species of butterfly - see the Butterfly section of the Gallery for a photo of the latest batch of Small Tortoiseshell caterpillars - and the Fauna section for what happened to one of them!
Colours in the meadow and hedge
1st June
Currently, the meadow is colourful with yellow buttercups and the hedge contains pink dog rose and white guelder rose, with red campion next to it. Earlier in May and on the June task morning several people were helping to cut hogweed flowers off. Admittedly, the plants have flower heads that are a mop of pretty white flowers, but if we let them go to seed they will overwhelm other wild flowers. Other workday tasks were tidying the hedge and removing some cleavers that were throttling it, so people can easily walk beside it. We also did some scything of grass and nettles beside the bramble patches.
Everything is growing now, sometimes too well!
4th May
Tasks at this month's workday included beheading hogweed, rescuing the stretch of low hawthorn hedge from cleavers, hops, nettles and exuberant red campion, and mowing paths. This latter included the (slight) redefining of the main diagonal path to encourage it to start moving back in the other direction! It had been on its way to joining the other path beside the river.
A great many wild flower seedlings
6th April
With a good turn-out of people we managed to prick out nearly 900 seedlings into individual pots. These plants were grown from the seed we collected in the meadow last summer and included Black Knapweed, Bird's-foot Trefoil and Musk Mallow. The other job was to repaint our metal tool chest.
Spring flowers and a winter tidy-up
2nd March
Several of the group met to do various tasks in the meadow. There were snowdrops in flower to plant out along the hedge. There were cut branches to move into 'habitat piles', rather than scattered randomly. There was the usual litter-pick, though there was not quite as much rubbish as sometimes. There were the stunted hawthorns in the hedge to release from the stifling vegetation around them, There was a spindle sapling to plant at the front of the corner copse. There was some 'heathering' to do to hold this winter's hedge-laying in place. We also managed a few more feet of hedge-laying, which will complete that activity until next autumn.
We admired the flowers along the hedge: primroses, snowdrops and even red campion, which has continued to flower throughout the mild winter.
Continuing copse and hedge management
2nd February
It was a rare sunny morning and eight of us continued with coppicing beside the cycle path, clearing more brambles from near the top path, some hedge laying and a litter clearance. We were glad to see that the wood chippings have kept the mud at bay at the Long Close entrance to the meadow, though the paths and other entrances are a little chewed up with the incessant wet weather. Perhaps a cold 'snap' of winter weather would help!
More hedge and mud management
5th January
On the Sunday morning task half a dozen members helped with hedge laying and bramble and nettle clearance near the top path. On the following Wednesday morning a lorry-load of wood chippings and foliage clippings was delivered to the 'out of town' end of the meadow. These were raked over the very muddy entrance to the meadow to make it easier for people to access the area. There are some pictures in our gallery.