Green hay strewning to help Linder's Field grassland

Published on 8 July 2011

Visitors to the Linder’s Field Local Nature Reserve in Buckhurst Hill are being advised not to be concerned at the work being carried out there as it will ultimately improve the biodiversity and the overall look of the meadow.

The small site is made up of a mosaic of grassland, scrub, ponds and woodland but the grassland portion of the site is currently described as species-poor.

It has been proven that species-poor grasslands can be enhanced using a technique called green hay strewning. Green hay strewning involves cutting a species-rich donor site before the wildflowers have gone to seed. The cuttings are then spread over the species-poor site. Countrycare staff from Epping Forest District Council have identified Roding Valley Meadows Local Nature Reserve as being the species-rich donor site.

This technique can be a very effective but to get the best results the sward, or grassland, must be opened up. This will involve the sward being cut and then around 40% to 50% being opened up with machinery to create areas of bare ground. Species-rich green hay cut from the donor site is spread thinly, trodden in and left for up to 3 weeks to allow the seed to fall. This area is then rolled, to bed the seed into the ground.

This method looks extreme but within a few months the original sward will recover and very little bare ground will remain. Results will be seen next year although some species may not appear in the sward for several years. With continued management of the site, Linder’s Field will become a thriving species-rich grassland with wildflowers including grass vetchling, knapweed, goatsbeard and ox-eye daisy, all species currently found at the donor site in the Roding Valley Meadows Local Nature Reserve.

Countrycare staff, Roding Valley Meadows Reserve Warden and volunteers from both organisations will carry out the work on 13, 19 and 20 July 2011. We aim to help reverse the 97% decline in species-rich grassland in England and Wales since the 1930s.