Some of you may have noticed that on and off we have been doing a bit of work for the last few weeks in the little arable field that is adjacent to the car park, this is a piece of land that I've had my eyes on for a few years now so when recently the opportunity to lease it came along when the last tenant Harry decided to scale down his farming operations we decided to grab it!
Below: Kathi our long term volunteer Breaking down hay bales that were harvested from a wildflower rich meadow - they were then spread over the meadow so any seed could germinate
The team hard at work spreading some of the hay bales
Negotiations were not easy particularly as we would have preferred to buy the field but unfortunately the asking price was just too much for the Society to pay, however after a bit of a re-think we managed to agree a medium term lease on the field.
So why have we added this bit of land to our current holdings? Well the plan is to create a new wildflower meadow with nectar margins for insects and in time when the meadow is established have an area where visitors can have a sit down and eat their packed lunches. If things go to plan we will also be putting in a seasonal meadow trail for people to enjoy all the beauty of an English summer hay meadow in bloom.
Maybe in a few years we will be enjoying some of these beautiful plants, pyramidal orchids
Now, before I get too carried away this project is going to be a real challenge, converting grade one arable to a wildflower meadow is not for the faint hearted, in fact some would say it is a little foolhardy if not doolally. You see arable fields tend to be very fertile and this promotes the growth of both grass and weeds such as thistles which then out compete the wild flowers.
Fortunately though the team here on the Humber always like to rise to a challenge and when looking at other projects around the country there is a clear indication that with the right approach we can do it - it may just take a little while longer, all we have to do is keep stripping of the nutrients in the form of regular hay cutting!
Saying that it might not be quite as hard as we currently think as I do know of a little corner of a local arable field that has been fenced off for a few years now and left as permanent set aside resulting it it being colonized by nearly 500 pyramidal orchids! Sometimes you just never know whats in store when you create new habitat.
Keen to get on with the project we've already harrowed the field and broadcast a grass and wildflower mix across 2ha off the center of the field and the nectar mix around the edges, so hopefully by spring we will be starting to get a little bit of growth and establishment. But over the next couple of years we'll have a lot of management work to do including haying and possibly a bit of aftermath grazing, putting in a bit more wildflower seed or plugs and then developing the visitor area.
The work and the tenancy cost has not been cheap though and we've been very grateful for the kind support of the York RSPB Members group who have already donated an amazing £1000 towards this tenacious little project. Their support has really helped us get on with the project without delay and we're hoping for the first flowers this summer.
As we are on fertile silt I suspect that we will have mix of plants such as knapweed, ox eye daisy, and red clover to start with but as things improve we are hoping establish more iconic plants such as yellow rattle, pyramidal orchids, betony, cow slips and with a bit of luck much much more right across the field.
Rather sadly quality hay meadows are virtually extinct in the Marshlands area, the question is can they be re-created? One thing I've noted is that on our fertile silt based soils the wildflowers are really vigorous much more than in the Yorkshire Dales. What must life been like in the local area when the meadows were filled with colour, one can only wonder?
Insects like these burnet moths will benefit too
We are hoping that this meadow creation will help start a wider project to work with other land owners to re-create and manage existing wildflower meadows across the Marshland area, this is mainly because in such a dominant arable landscape we have all but lost our magnificent meadows, with from what I know there is unbelievably only one remaining example of the flower rich meadow that would have been common place pre-1900. There are even historic reminders of places that have disappeared from the local landscape that allude to the past use of some of the land as pasture, names like Ox pasture lane and Cow lane are all around when you look.
Horseshoe meadow may be just a little step for us but into the future it may become a giant leap for the preservation of our local plants and insects.
The question is why did we call it Horseshoe Meadow? Well my colleague Mike suggested that it be called after the local name of Horseshoe corner (I have a theory that horses were at one time horseshoed here rather than the shape of the sharp corner), it was for me the perfect name, as a week before I had found a horseshoe in the field as I was inspecting some of our work!
The very horseshoe on my living room wall - hopefully it will bring good luck!
One last thing a request from me, the cost of this project will in the end benefit both wildlife and all our visitors to the reserve, and although we've already had a fantastic contribution to set us on our way we will still need a little bit of support.
We will be placing a donations bucket in reception for the next year and all I ask is that if you can spare a pound or two towards ensuring this project is a success then please feel free to help us out, it will be very much appreciated not just by me but hopefully thousands of people who visit the reserve over the year.