What's happening

Background

The site of Jubilee Meadow was donated to the Parish Council by Ingram Homes after the development of the new housing at Harrold Place. The Council took the ambitious decision to create and manage the site as a wildflower meadow. Work on the project began at the end of 2021 and is at a very early stage. The project has been part of the Norfolk Wildlife Trust (NWT) Claylands Wider Connections Project https://www.norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk/wilderconnections and NWT have been helping us with each stage of developing the meadow and have provided invaluable advice, encouragement and support throughout

The views above show how the Meadow looked in spring 2022 (photos by Anna Lipp) and below is how it looked in May 2024 (photo by Gary Watson)

The Last Year

A lot has happened since work started on the project. For a summary of what has been happening and the highlights of 2023 have a look at Our Meadow Year In Numbers

Hay-making Time -Summer 2023

From the end of July into September we'll have a lot of work to do on The Meadow as we cut, harrow, spread hay and seeds, rake off the 'arisings' and then plant plugs and bulbs. We'll be treating areas in different ways to increase the diversity and range of habitats.

To find out more about what we'll be doing take a look at the document we've prepared to explain the plan.

Hay making Time on the Meadow - Summer 2023

And why not come along and help out on one of our regular work parties or any of the other events we arrange to get the work done (see our Events page and follow our posts on the Resident's Facebook page

Our aims

Small Tortoiseshell butterfly on Oxeye daises at Shotesham St Mary (photo by Elizabeth Dack)

Tawny Owl at a nestbox at NWT Holmes Dunes (photo by Elizabeth Dack)

Our aims are to provide a green space for the community to enjoy and to provide a space for nature

To increase the range of plants and encourage pollinators

To provide a home for a range of wildlife

So far work on the meadow has included

Planting hedging and trees
Preparing a section of the meadow for seeding with wildflowers
Laying and raking ‘green hay’ from Saxlingham Nethergate and donated by Norfolk Wildlife Trust (NWT) on part of the meadow. Using hay was harvested from local wildflower meadows this is a tried method of distributing seeds from established meadows
Sowing wildflower seeds including Yellow-rattle from High Ash Farm at Caistor St Edmund on part of the meadow with a smaller bed of mixed wildflower seeds in one corner of the meadow
In addition to work on the meadow, verges on Long Lane and edges of the Playing Field are being managed to provide food for pollinators and habitat for insects, small mammals and other wildlife by allowing them to grow and by adding seeds and plants to increase the range of wildflowers

Often called ‘the meadow-maker’, Yellow-rattle is a plant that helps reduce vigorous agricultural grasses and opens up space for wildflowers and other grasses to bloom. Yellow-rattle in flower at Shotesham St Mary (photo by Elizabeth Dack)

As well as the wildflower areas, providing hedges, trees and undisturbed areas will provide resources and homes for a wide range of wildlife. To provide more nesting and roosting space for birds, we’ve put up bird boxes including a Tawny Owl box, another owl box, Robin and tit boxes as well as bat and bug boxes. We've created log and brash piles to provide a home for a range of wildlife from fungi to insects as well as a shelter for small mammals, reptiles and amphibians. We've even made use of the many stones and bricks found on the site to make cairns to mark sections of the meadow but also as a basking place for insects and reptiles

To help us monitor progress as the meadow develops, we have undertaken baseline surveys of flowers and grasses and have established a weekly butterfly count as part of the national United Kingdom Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (UKBMS)

Nestboxes have been put up beside the Meadow (photos by Pauline Montgomery)

What's next

Establishing a wildflower meadow is not going to be straight-forward or quick. The site itself will pose challenges, for example wildflower meadows thrive best on unimproved soils, what we have is land that has been cultivated for years and there are bound to be other challenges (who would have predicted this summer’s drought?)

This is a long term project which will require on-going work and management. Unmanaged, the meadow would be taken over by grasses and eventually turn to scrub. Our aim is to create a management pattern that follows traditional practice on hay meadows. There will be an annual programme of cutting and raking and each year we will sow additional seeds to increase the extent and range of wildflower and grass species growing on the meadow while leaving some areas undisturbed to provide shelter

Last year our efforts focused on

Planting more hedging and trees on the meadow
Providing more wildlife homes including bird boxes and log piles
Sowing wildflower seeds and plants on the meadow and nearby verges
Providing visitor facilities including notice boards and seating

To find out more about what has happened so far you can read our highlights from 2023 by clicking here and the annual report that was presented to the Parish Council Annual Meeting in April 2023 by clicking here

This year we'll need to manage the existing areas and begin work on extending the area of the wildflower meadow. We are aiming to create the wildflower area in three phases by dividing it into three roughly equal sections and starting a new phase each year.

Learning to be untidy - an undisturbed pile of logs and branches can provide a resource and shelter for a range of wildlife including insects, small mammals, amphibians and reptiles (photo by Anna Lipp)

The Meadow Year

We will be attempting to replicate the traditional methods used to manage hay meadows prior to intensive farming practices. We will need to take account of conditions and progress with establishing the meadow but some of the annual tasks should include

January / February

Hedge trimming (if required). Once established, sections of the hedge will be cut every 2 or 3 years. Cutting is timed to allow birds and other wildlife to exploit autumn berries and fruits and to be carried out before the nesting season starts

Late winter/early Spring

A late winter or early spring cut of the Meadow may be required to suppress vigorous grasses that could out-compete wildflowers. Remove cuttings to reduce the fertility. Some ‘forage’ areas will be left to grow (these will be cut on rotation and the cuttings may be left to provide a thatch to shelter small mammals etc ).
Verges will also be cut but then, like the meadow, strips will be left to allow grasses and wildflowers to grow

May

Potentially extend and supplement existing wildflower areas by preparing ground, seeding and planting

May to August (and other times when appropriate)

Selective control of potentially dominant species ,"injurious weeds" e.g. thistle and Common Ragwort or invasive species. For our policy on managing plants, including Common Ragwort, that are classified under the 1953 Weeds Act please click here

July to September

Late summer cut of the Meadow and verges after wildflowers have seeded. Hay left and raked after a few days to allow seeds to fall and then after several weeks raked off. It is important to remove the cuttings ("arisings") to prevent nutrient build-up in the soils
Forage areas left uncut to provide shelter and food

October / November

Cut verges and rotational cut of forage areas leaving some areas as over-wintering shelter. Remove cuttings but we'll want to leave a dense under layer to allow small mammals, reptiles and amphibians to shelter
Potentially extend and supplement existing wildflower areas by preparing ground, seeding and planting

November / December

Hedge and tree planting and maintenance as required

Other tasks

Wildlife surveys during season including a weekly butterfly survey, plant and insect surveys
Maintaining paths on the Meadow (year round)
Community engagement events

Visiting the Meadow