Green hay strewing to help Linder's Field grassland

An exciting project to improve a local open space - a cooperative project between Roding Valley Meadows Reserve (Essex Wildlife Trust) and Countrycare (Epping Forest District Council), to increase the biodiversity of Linder's Field in Buckhurst Hill by spreading species-rich green hay.

See the Countrycare article (On EFDC website) -Green hay strewing to help Linder's Field grassland

We had a great day yesterday strewing at Linder's Field, it went really well! Myself and Patrick (the Warden) were there from Essex Wildlife Trust, and we had a team from Countrycare in attendance, as well as a fantastic group of volunteers from both organisations. The process of green hay strewing involves cutting at a species-rich site (in this case, Roding Valley Meadows) to create green hay. This green hay is then transported and spread on a species-poor site (Linder's Field), which has had the sward opened up through cutting and use of machinery. The wildflowers in the green hay will drop their seed into the receiving site, and so species which have been missing from the site will start to appear the following year and in future years.

Cutting for green hay at Roding Valley Meadows reserve

Colourful wildflowers in the green hay - inc. Knapweed and Bush Vetchling seen here

Species-poor Linder's Field, mostly grasses, ready to receive wildflowers

Staff and volunteers from both organisations help to spread the green hay

The amount of colour in the green hay from Roding Valley Meadows was incredible, so we are hopeful that many kinds of wildflower will start appearing at the site in the future. Everyone worked hard, but it was very rewarding to be making such a huge difference to a local open space. Measures such as green hay strewing can help a grassland like Linder's Field, which is quite species-poor, become a haven for important native plant species. This is especially important in light of the huge declines in species-rich grasslands in England and Wales; 97% of our wildflower meadows have been lost since the 1930's (read this article in the Telegraph or this BBC article for more information on meadow declines), and hopefully we can help to reverse this trend through projects such as ours. The green hay strewing is also a great use of the Roding Valley Meadows reserve, where grasslands have to be cut anyway to maintain their condition and to prevent certain plants from disappearing.

Hopefully, thanks to our efforts yesterday, Linder's Field will support much more wildlife in future, such as this Burnet Moth photographed on Knapweed flowers at Roding Valley Meadows reserve