Yellow rattle, the hay meadow hero
In this episode of the Farming Social Hub’s Farming with Water series, sponsored by the Norfolk Rivers Trust (NRT), we visit a hay meadow that is being grown at Blickling in North Norfolk on the National Trust’s Blickling Estate.
Tune into the podcast here.
Cassie Chanin is the Tree and Meadow Advisor for the NRT and Rory Hart is an independent ecological contractor who specialises in developing species-rich grasslands.
In this informative episode we learn about the value of having Yellow Rattle in your meadows; why close grazing by livestock is vital for biodiversity and how even a hoof print can offer a habitat for creatures.
The key message for anyone thinking of developing their own hay meadow or wildflower patch in their garden is ‘you might not get what you expect, but you will always be delighted and surprised by what grows when you let nature have its way.’
The project at Blickling is part of a nationwide project sponsored by Air Wick and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The aim of the project is to restore 20 million square feet of wildflower meadows. You can read more about the project here and here.
In this episode, not only do we learn about the work going on in this specific project, we also get some useful tips from Rory and Cassie on how to grow your own patch of wilderness, whether you are doing this on a farm, a large garden or part of a community project.
Tune in now to Episode 4 of the Farming Social Hub, Farming with Water series.