'No Mow' Conservation Scheme

In support of Plantlife’s ‘No Mow’ project, Somerset Council is implementing No Mow Trials, by letting the flowers bloom and species prosper across certain council-owned spaces, ensuring the areas provide a vital source of sustenance for our pollinators and new habitat for all species.

We are changing our mowing routine at specific areas in Castle Cary, Ansford, Milborne Port, Cucklington, Yeovil and Ilminster to allow wild plants to flower and then set seed. This is to help create enough nectar for bees and other pollinators. As the areas develop you will be able to spot a greater variety of flowers popping up in your community over the seasons.

The No Mow conservation project has been developed in collaboration with South Somerset communities, parish and town councils and our skilled grass-cutting crews.

The aim is to bring increased biodiversity to our towns and villages. As part of our Environment Strategy, we stated ‘our aspiration is to be the first generation to leave the environment in a better state than we found it’. We hope that this trial is the beginning of how we see much more of our marginal grassland managed in the future.

Get involved

You can join in too. There are lots of ways you can do your bit to help local grasslands and wildlife. Anyone with a patch of land, however small, can do this. Mark out your area and leave it to thrive through the summer and beyond. Join us on this journey to help re-wild and return some of our verges and lesser-used pieces of land back to nature.

You can read more about how to mow your lawn or green space for wildlife on the Plantlife website.

Wildflower Meadow Planting

Managing the margins or your land or garden can be hugely beneficial to invertebrates, birds and reptiles. This can be achieved through finding unused areas, usually on the margins of green space and not mowing for as long as possible.

This can be enhanced through the introduction of plug plants. These are clusters of established British wildflowers, sown intermittently across the newly formed meadow. This area will then need to be cut and the grass removed in autumn as our wildflowers thrive in poor-quality soils – if not other species will outcompete the flowers.

Please see the RSPB’s initiative ‘give your mower a rest’, which provides insight on what cutting regimes would be best suited for the school.

Undertaking a Grassland Survey

The Somerset Environmental Records Centre (SERC) are looking for people to get involved with grassland and wildlife surveys – either on their own or by joining an organised survey.

There is an urgent need to monitor the wildlife value of our local grasslands and assess how they can be managed effectively.

You could do your bit at a time which suits you, in your garden or local neighbourhood or take part in a group. For example, you could turn your garden into your very own nature reserve and record how your changes are impacting on wildlife by recording your sightings on SERC’s Somerset Wildlife Database.

If you would like to help out with monitoring the wildlife value of our local grasslands, here’s what to do:

How

• Record things on a spreadsheet or notepad, or you could record straight into SERC’s wildlife database. Note down a few simple details of what was seen where and when and by who. Example of a grassland monitoring form.
• If you need help with identification, the Field Studies Council (FSC) have produced a number of handy outdoor ID charts that can be used to help with identification, including grassland monitoring. The internet is also a great resource to use.
• Be as precise as possible, if the details are too vague we won’t be able to make use of the record.
• Provide any other relevant information such as, the type of record, number, sex, or stage.

Who – provide your full name and contact details – this helps us tell apart the different recorders and lets us check details if necessary.

What – give the scientific name if you can, or the standard common name. If you don’t know the exact species please be as specific as possible about what you’ve seen, for example, ‘pipistrelle bat’, ‘newt’, ‘Rosa species’.

Where – give a grid reference and a location name if you can. Or provide a good description of the site you are surveying to help us assign an accurate grid reference.

When – ideally give a date, however the month and year, or a date range is enough.

Submit – you can submit details by entering these into the Somerset Wildlife Database. Or if you would prefer to submit a one-off record by email or you have an identification enquiry please email SERC at records@somerc.com attaching photos if you have any.

SERC is interested in receiving all records so don’t assume that they already know everything in Somerset. Records of rarities and widespread species are useful and can help conservation efforts.  All records can be useful for plotting the distributions of species and grasslands both locally and nationally, and for finding trends.