Restoring the Millennium bank

The Uley Trees and Meadows winter work party continues with the first visit to the bank of the Millennium Green. This is an area of unimproved calcareous grassland which was restored earlier in the year by Glorious Grasslands.

There were seven of us today, so we were able to make really good progress. The priority was to cut and rake the top of the bank which was found to be quite species rich in an informal survey earlier this year. This seed will have dropped, so cutting low again gives them a chance to spread further down and along the bank next season.

There are a large number of ant hills which are home to the Yellow Meadow ant. They are micro habitats in their own right, often harbouring species such as common rock-rose and lady’s bedstraw.

We were careful to brush cut around them to make sure they are not disturbed.

The area at the bottom of the slope tends to attract the more dominant vegetation such as nettles and dock. We cleared those too, so that over time seed will spread from the upper slope and it all becomes species rich. This will take several years of effort though – grassland restoration is not an overnight task.

The social aspect of the work party is also important. People make new connections within the community and there was lots of good conversation. There were also a lot of passers-by who were interested in the work we were doing.