Summer is here and our renovated wildflower meadow is looking like paradise.

What a beautiful way to spend the longest day! On 21 June 2022, our fantastic team of volunteers (who worked long and hard over the winter to dig out and replant our wildflower meadow) have been working on the finishing touches of this beautiful spot, a welcome stopping off point for visitors and bees alike.

Restoring the wildflower meadow to its former glory is complete. Looking back over the months, here’s a record of all the hard work. back in later winter, despite a day of snow, rain, sun and hail, volunteers turned out in mass to get involved – we had a mass seed sowing activity covering the restored area with bee-friendly and butterfly-mix of seeds.

Our wildlife ‘meadow’ is located behind the children’s play area – it’s an important resource for wildlife, particularly bees and butterflies. Created 15 years ago, we look after it by cutting and raking it at specific times of the year to encourage its diversity. We leave seedheads in place to drop their seeds for future growth, and a winter feast for birds. However over time the area had become quite choked with hogweed and there was less of the wildlife-friendly plants we would expect to see. Work began – it was a tough job, scraping off layers of topsoil, roots and debris in winter but all the volunteers worked hard and the land was left ready for the spring sowing.