Wildflower Meadow Creation at Marble Hill October 28th

Recently the Environment Trust attended an event entitled 'Living Landscapes' organised by Transition Town Kingston that aimed to highlight the plight of Britain's pollinators and the need for us all to do more to protect bees and other pollinators by planting native wildflowers. While some people may think such areas look untidy, it is exactly these 'untidy' places that are likely to provide suitable habitat for pollinators. These insects are crucial for ensuring that our food crops, fruit trees etc. are pollinated and produce the harvests to feed us all. It would be a disaster if we were to lose our pollinators, as has happened in some parts of China, as summarised in this news report http://www.apinews.com/en/news/item/12780-china-hand-pollination

With this in mind, the Environment Trust welcomed the opportunity to join English Heritage at Marble Hill Park to expand an area of native wildflowers. Despite a rather disappointing turnout, a small group of volunteers worked to prepare the ground for sowing wildflower seed. Wildflowers flourish on low-nutrient soil and without suitable management can quickly be smothered by aggressive grasses. Using special turf spades, an area of grass, including the nutrient-rich top soil, was removed. After raking the area, described as a 'wildfllower handkerchief' by one of our volunteers, the seed was mixed with sand to allow better distribution, and scattered. Temporary fencing now surrounds the area to protect the seed from curious dogs. Now we must wait until spring to see what germinates. The reason for sowing the seeds in autumn is to promote germination of those seeds that require temperatures close to zero to break their dormancy.

Robert uses a turf spade to prepare the ground for the wildflower seed. 

A snoozing toad (Bufo bufo) was rudely awoken and carefully relocated. 

This robin (Erithacus rubecula) appeared to have an injured wing, but it turned out to have been in a dispute over territory and was soon chased away by a competitor. 

Mussel shells, dropped by birds, reveal the link between the nearby River Thames and the wider landscape. 

Cup cakes were bought from T.A.P.E., a social enterprise set up by Portsmouth University students to support a community in northern India.  

The 'wildflower handkerchief' is ready for seed. 

John secures the protective fencing. 

Fewer volunteers is not necessarily a bad thing ...