Plans to create an area of wild-flower rich, floodplain meadow on The Mill Field in Charlbury took a big step forward earlier in November.  More than 600 individual meadow plug plants -including species such as Devil’s Bit Scabious, Lady’s Bedstraw, Great Burnet and Red Campion – went into the ground, along with hundreds of Fritillary bulbs. Â
About 30 volunteers from the community showed up to do the job over the course of four marathon planting sessions, undeterred by wintery weather. It marked an important moment in a project to recreate the kind of meadow that in centuries past would been common along the Evenlode River – useful for hay production in summer and flood management in winter.
Not an easy process
The meadow restoration project is located on a half-acre plot at the western end of The Mill Field, an area relatively unfrequented. The Mill Field is a long strip of land, sandwiched between the river and a former mill stream. It is popular with picknickers and dog walkers,
Meadow recreation has proved to be a complex process. An earlier effort to grow meadow plants from seed on site had only limited success due to flooding last year. So, this time round, the decision was taken to put in plug plants that had been propagated elsewhere in the hope that they will prove more robust.
Weekly training sessions
Since the spring, a group of volunteers from Charlbury has attended weekly training sessions in meadow-restoration at Long Mead Local Wildlife Site, near Eynsham, home of the Long Mead Foundation. The sessions have been run by Catriona Bass, whose expertise comes from managing one of the last remaining truly ancient meadows in the country. The sessions have had a dual purpose: nurturing seedlings for replanting in the Mill Field and developing skills for other meadow projects in future.
The work on The Mill Field has been backed by Charlbury Town Council (owner of the site), funded by Sustainable Charlbury with grants amounting to nearly £10,000, and underpinned by huge contributions of time and effort by more than 50 volunteers over the last six months.
Most of the plug plants have been installed in cross-shaped patterns -with 12 plants in each cross – to make finding them easier in future. GPS equipment was used to mark the locations of the crosses on a map of the site, which also sets out where the various species are and in what numbers.
Put to the test by flooding
The fledgling meadow plants have already faced a stern test. In the same week as they went into the ground, the Mill Field site was completely flooded for a few days after exceptionally heavy rain. There are early signs that most of the plants have survived, despite having their roots waterlogged. But we won’t know for sure until next spring when the growing season gets under way. Fingers crossed!
