With the wonderful summer weather, the growth of bracken grasses and flowers in Jean Green’s meadows has been enormous – so much so that the children from the Early Years (St Briavels Playgroup) and the Reception class (St Briavels School) disappeared almost completely as they ran, chasing butterflies and moths, catching grasshoppers and beetles on their annual trip to Holly Tree Farm on St Briavels Common.
We borrowed pond-dipping nets as well as butterfly nets this year so we were able to ‘dip’ in the water tank which is fed by a permanent spring. Thus, whilst the rich tapestry of wild flowers, the speckled wood and small tortoishell butterflies, the colourful burnet moths and the dragonflies were exciting, I think that the most popular discovery were the tiny newts (known as efts) that were scooped out of the tank together with some very fat tadpoles.
Both groups of children withdrew from the heat to picnic in Jean’s barn sitting on hay bales with Jean’s Dexter cow keeping a watchful eye from her stable close at hand which added another excitement as, having horns, many were determined that she was definitely a bull!
The PGP aims to raise awareness of the potential richness of meadows and Jean’s illustrate exactly that. By now they will have been cut for hay, but not before the seed of all those flowers have set so that next year there should be another bumper crop of blooms which again will encourage a multitude of fauna. Advice on the management of land to encourage such a rich biodiversity is available from the PGP whether it is a small corner of a garden or, indeed, a field.
The staff who accompanied the children confirmed that this event is now firmly established in their calendar, as they wish to encourage the children to become familiar with their local area and to value this important part of our environment. Certainly, each year, the children show increased confidence and really relish the experience.