On Tuesday 5th November the Hyndburn’s Woodlands Volunteers were back at Jubilee woodland to continue with the meadow maintenance that we started the week prior.
Much of the scything had already been carried out, so this session primarily focused on raking off the cuttings to reduce the nutrients present.
Once the last bit of scything was complete, and the raking carried out, volunteers sowed Yellow rattle seeds into the cut meadow. This was done via the ‘heeling’ technique, volunteers small indents into the meadow using the heel of their boots. A small sprinkle of seeds were then placed into the indent, which was then covered over using their heel.
Yellow rattle is a valuable plant for meadow management as the plant parasitizes grasses, reducing their prevalence which in turn benefits other wildflowers. Yellow rattle itself is a wild flower which provides benefits to pollinators.
Activity funded by Lancashire County Council, Hyndburn Borough Council, and the Windfall Fund.