Nature - making green hay with Norfolk Wildlife Trust

Making ‘green hay’ for wildlife diversity

By Sue Grime, NWT Claylands Community Engagement Officer

Norfolk Wildlife Trust’s Wilder Connections project has been busy this year helping communities to support wildlife across the South Norfolk Claylands. At Burston and Shimpling we have been undertaking simple botanical surveys of playing fields, which had been left for No Mow May.

We have found a surprising diversity of plant species and these will be monitored over time while the meadow establishes. The hay has been recently cut by volunteers using scythes following training on our ‘Introduction to scything workshop.’ The parish has also planted a woodland and created a raised bank that has been seeded using wildflower seeds, and it will receive some ‘green hay’ as well.

Green hay refers to the process of cutting hay from a local wildlife-rich site and taking the cut hay to a new site to help create new wildlife-friendly areas. A local site is best, as it preserves the local genes and the habitat requirements of the wildflowers are likely to be met if they are sourced nearby.

The receiving site is prepared in advance by cutting the grass and then disturbing the ground

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so that bare earth is exposed. The green hay is spread out thinly all over the meadow to allow the wildflower seeds to drop out and establish at their new site.

We are also adding green hay to establish a meadow in Stoke Holy Cross, officially known as Jubilee Meadows, and will be working with the parish council and local community to enhance the meadow for wildlife. They are also planting some trees, a new hedgerow and a community orchard in the green space. As well as being great for wildlife, this area will provide local residents with a beautiful area to walk and picnic and the opportunity to harvest fruit from the orchard.

Volunteers

Following on from our successful volunteer-led tree planting last winter, which saw us plant over 8,000 saplings, we have a new series of tree planting days lined up from November to February. If you’d like to volunteer to plant hedgerow or woodland trees in the South Norfolk area contact: sueg@norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk.

Free trees

NWT has partnered with the Woodland Trust’s Easter Claylands Treescape project to deliver the Tree Pack Giveaway this December. Landowners or community groups can register to collect packs of free trees including oak, hornbeam, hazel, field maple, wild cherry, and crabapple. www.norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk/ freetrees

For more on Norfolk Wildlife Trust’s Wilder Connections project:

norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk/ wilderconnections

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