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2015
Hedge laying and tidying
6th December
Eight of us worked on three tasks in the meadow: continuing with the hedge laying, clearing a fallen tree and cutting back brambles, especially among the trees, so that the primroses will be visible in the Spring.
Autumn colours and the start of the coppicing season
1st November
Now that the summer flowers have faded, the autumn colours have arrived. See the Gallery for some more photos, including when someone set fire to some of the hay. We held our AGM on the 19th October and have a new chairman, Julia, though Michael will continue to lead the management of the meadow and the conservation tasks. Thank you to him for all his hard work as chairman over the years.
At the start of November the workday activities were varied: comprising raking up hay scattered after the fire, coppicing a large hazel, continuing with hedgelaying, cutting back brambles, piling the brash in a gap to deter use of a cut-off path and picking up litter to keep the meadow looking 'loved and cared-for'!
Autumn planting
4th October
After the hay was cut on 23rd September, baled and removed on the 25th, the group spent time the following week raking up the worst of the hay that was left on the ground. Then starting on the Sunday workday on the 4th we have planted out nearly a thousand plug plants into the meadow over the following 5 days. These had been growing since sowing the seed collected from the meadow in summer 2014.
Pulling nettles etc.
6th September
Today there were several of us in the meadow tidying up. We pulled up nettles that were too near the paths, cut overhanging tree branches and cleared brambles, nettles and cleavers from the hedge. The paths were mown again and we hope the farmer will be able to cut the field for hay in a week or so, now that most of the flowers have set seed.
Tidying the meadow & gathering seed in the summer sunshine
2nd August
We spent a pleasant morning in the warm sunshine cutting back overhanging brambles and nettles from the paths, pulling up thistles and cutting off dock seed heads.
As some of the wild flowers have now set seed we collected some of the latter to sow and plant back as plug plants into the meadow later next year. The wild flowers included Black and Greater Knapweed, Field Scabious, Bird's-foot Trefoil, Betony, Meadow Cranesbill and Yellow Rattle.
A good morning's work
5th July
There was a good turnout for a morning of "housekeeping" in the meadow. The flowering heads of the docks were cut off so that they do not crowd out the other wild flowers across the open meadow. Also, the hedge was trimmed so that people can enjoy walking along the path beside it.
If you visit the meadow on a sunny day look out for butterflies, bees and other flying insects around the many wild flowers now in full bloom.
More colour in the meadow
7th June
The meadow has gone from the yellows of cowslips and dandelions to the yellows of buttercups and yellow rattle. Other colours are showing with the white and red clovers and there are a few blue field scabious starting to appear. There is a profusion of flowers along the hedgerow, including red campion, dog rose and guelder rose.
We've planted several small hawthorns in the bare triangle near the information board to deter people from using it as a short-cut into the meadow.
On the June task day several of us cleared stinging nettles from the edges of the paths that we keep mowed during the summer. The nettles were left undisturbed in many areas as they provide food for common species of butterfly. There were many caterpillars of the small tortoiseshell crowded together on the heads of some of the nettles. We also cut off the hogweed flower heads throughout the meadow to stop them spreading.
Spring work for the meadow
3rd May
Towards the end of April we did some reparation work once the underground electricity cabling had been finished. The contractors had dug a big hole to take some cables under the river, plus a narrow trench leading from the cycle path alongside the river bank and into the meadow to the hole. In accessing the meadow their vehicles had also chewed up the grass at the entrance to the meadow between the blue bridge and our brick path, and, unforgiveably, had churned it up between the groups of trees alongside the cycle path.
A few of us raked the bare soil and scattered a grass and flower seed mix, which the subsequent rain kindly watered in for us. The areas are currently taped off and we are planning on planting some hawthorns into gaps and to protect the new grass.
In the final week of April we held a well-attended indoor meeting to discuss progress in the meadow and just to have a bit of a get-together at Michael and Angela's house.
On the May taskday there were more seedlings to pot up, mostly cowslips, some betony and a couple of meadow cranesbill. Two members did some scything in the meadow, removing nettles and rosebay willowherb that was encroaching excessively.
April activities
10th April
As our normal task day fell at Easter there were just a few of us at the meadow. We tidied up a little by cutting up a small goat willow that had toppled over in the recent strong winds and by releasing some of the hedge from the embrace of rapidly-growing brambles. Then today a few of us pricked out several hundred Black Knapweed, Bird's-foot Trefoil and Devil's-bit Scabious seedlings that had been sown last autumn.
More progress on a lovely morning in the meadow
1st March
Nine of us spent a pleasant winter's morning doing more hedge-laying, plus cutting back brambles and willowherb. It was good to welcome new people interested in helping with the tasks. Snowdrops and primroses are now out in flower there. Have a look at the gallery for photos of them.
A cold day in the meadow
1st February
Seven of us braved the chilly breeze this morning to do some tasks: energetic ones, enough to keep warm! There was more coppicing of hazel done beside the cycle path and some clearing of bramble so that it does not encroach on the meadow too much. There was the continuation of the hedge-laying and two sacks were filled with rubbish, picked up from around the meadow and from between our hedge and the tarmac footpath.
More hedge laying and coppicing
4th January
On our task morning we split into two groups: three of us doing hedge laying and several more coppicing the hazels next to the cycle path and clearing some of the ground vegetation there. This will give more light for the early spring flowers like primroses and dog violets to prosper. See our Gallery for the latest photos.
Four of us took delivery of a lorry-load of bark chippings on the frosty morning of the 20th and have spread these over the muddy path at the entrance of the far end of the meadow. This seems to be a necessary job each winter when it is wet.