Project: Coronation Meadow, Glebe Field

In 2023 Bleasby Parish Council agreed to allocate an area of Glebe Field to be allowed to develop into a wild flower meadow.

This would provide an opportunity for local people to learn about starting an wildflower meadow, encourage more wildlife and enhance the area for visitors. 

We simply left the grass uncut last year (2023) in order to see what plant species were already present - unsurprisingly this was predominantly grass but a total of 24 different species of plant were identified, the greatest variety being at the margins of the meadow.

The meadow was then scythed and arisings removed in late August and during this work party, large numbers of insects along with frogs, toads and a vole were observed in this small area of meadow.

Further maintenance was undertaken during the latest working party in spring 2024, including the introduction of yellow rattle plus which will help to suppress the reduce the vigour of problematic plants and allow the wildflowers to flourish.

It's already apparent that the area form three distinctive environments: a wet area in the very corner against the hedge, a shady area underneath the oak tree and a sunny area on the south side. This will allow a real diversity of wildlife to evolve as we contnue to mange the space. 

The plan from here will be to manage the grass in a way that will help wildflowers to flourish as they start to see more light and contend less with the aggressive grasses.