Monday 25 May '09

We plough the fields and scatter

This Bank Holiday sees us reinstating what was the lawn bit of the wlldflower meadow in front of Lawson Park -underneath this soil is the equivalent of a small house containing the water and drainage for the new hostel. Here's our jolly Swiss intern Ladina weeding....

Posted by Karen Guthrie on 25/05/09 at 10:14

Topics: 'wildflower meadow'

Tuesday 14 April '09

Wildflower Survey

We've received a fascinating detailed examination of the beautiful 1 hectare meadow that Lawson Park overlooks, from the Cumbria Hay Meadows project. There are 30 native plant species present apparently, but its steepness makes it unsuited as a formal seed-donor site for others trying to establish native meadows unfortunately, as equipment struggles on the slopes.

It's all a far cry from the downright ignorant complaint we had about the meadow after last year's NGS charity open day: "There were no wildflowers to be seen". Clearly a blindfolded visitor.

Anyhow, the report recommends:

• Manage the whole parcel for its floristic and habitat interest, focussing on the species rich neutral grassland , tall herb vegetation and small parcel of oak woodland.
• Re-instate a cutting and preferably grazing regime over the area.
• Sow the area of disturbed ground below the building with a suitable seed mix and manage with the rest of the herb rich neutral grassland sward.

You can read more about the Cumbria Hay Meadows Project here. Email us if you'd like to receive a copy of the whole report or if indeed you'd like some hand-harvested seed this summer, to start your own meadow.

Posted by Karen Guthrie on 14/04/09 at 14:51 0 Comments

Topics: 'biodiversity' 'seed' 'uplands' 'wildflower meadow'