Ancients

A morning of rather tedious report editing was followed by a stimulating afternoon out looking at two pieces of farmland with potential for nature recovery schemes. A whole group of us trekked round an area of grassland at Helpston, which was already developing some interest, with species such as Marsh Thistle and Agrimony present in the sward, but also had potential for a series of new ponds in the lowest lying hollows.

The grassland was surrounded by an important assemblage of veteran and pre-veteran trees including some ancient pollard oaks, which may be a relic of the former wood boundary. This one was particularly magnificent, its hollow trunk and bare bark potentially providing homes for all manner of creatures.

We then visited an area of abandoned arable land close to the River Welland. There were potentially many options here, though the presence of a pylon line across the land would be a constraint. At the time of the OS First Edition maps this land would have been part of the floodplain, but has been embanked. I'd like to see it reconnected to the river and returned to species-rich floodplain grassland, but this would be a major job that would have to involve the Environment Agency at an early stage.