Grasscutting at the Sherborne Lenthay allotments field

Today we shall be cutting and raking off the grass from part of the Lenthay allotment field, where we have been managing the site for the Sherborne Town Council to try to improve the wildflower diversity. It has been a very challenging summer for a lot of the animals and plants and it remains to be seen what the consequences will be next season.

The Bee Orchids were more numerous and more widespread than in previous years but many of the other wildflower species seem to have suffered from the high temperatures and drought.

Many species of butterflies flourished – particularly Small Coppers, skippers and other grass loving species like the Gatekeepers and Marbled Whites.

We are not going to cut all the field but will be leaving about 1/3 of it for the over-wintering wildlife. We need to rake up and shift what we cut to the dumping points in the corners. We will soon be sowing locally collected wildflower seed to improve the biodiversity of the field.

If you can help us with the raking off please contact me.

We shall meet at the field entrance at the end of Hunt’s Mead at 8.30am but join us later if you cannot get there for the start.

Bring PPE if you are a brushcutter operator. Also bring your lunch and drinks for refreshment. I’ll try to remmeber to bring cake!