In early February we established ten shallow scrapes in the low lying areas of the meadow. The scrapes were designed from the topographic survey and their purpose is to provide habitat for invertebrates and feeding areas for wading birds. During high rainfall periods the scrapes should collect water and retain it for a length of time. When the river overtops the spillway at the upstream end of the meadow, the scrapes will again fill with water. As the scrapes dry out, the muddy margins provide habitat for insects and invertebrates where birds can feed. When the weather gets a little warmer the scrapes will be sown with a wetland seed mix which tolerates being inundated with water. Each scrape has been recorded on PhotoMapp, which is an iPhone App which automatically creates photo documents of photographs using the metadata from your phone. The image on the right is one of the document outputs you can use (click to enlarge), Now we need rain!
BTW the S39 agreement still hasn't been agreed by WCC.
by Mike Hopkins
30Jan2023
Time for Action.
The agreement to make Halford Flood Meadow into a Biodiversity Offset site so that developers can replace and increase the biodiversity they have taken away with their development is still to be made. This is very frustrating but is understandable as it is a new process which needs a lot of thought. We are hopeful that we are very close to an agreement now.
Before we miss another window of nature to get things growing, we have put down some trial plots for spring seeding. This involves scarifying the ground to expose 50% bare soil and then sowing the seed on top and rolling or treading it in. The trial patches are in three different areas of the field to inform how the seed reacts to low and high nutrient soils. Seeding normally happens in the autumn but it is possible to sow seeds successfully in the early spring. Fritillary bulbs are also being planted in different areas of the field, their locations will be recorded to provide an indication of the best conditions for the plant to survive. It is very exciting to have made a start but the work can't start in earnest until the agreement is complete.
