Volunteer Working Parties
From time to time over the coming year we will be looking to arrange Volunteer Working Parties to help with the maintenance of Jubilee Meadow. The following activities were done by volunteers in 2024 - planting daffodil bulbs, pulling up ragwort, clearing brambles, staking and watering trees, and we will be looking to do similar things next year. We will also be looking for volunteers to help with seed spreading for the annual wildflowers early in the year. If you would like to join in any of these activities which, typically, only involve a few hours work, please contact me, johnwarham@hotmail.com, and I will add your name to our list and be in touch when we need help.
Progress over 2024
The last year was the first one when we could see progress being made. There was a great display of annuals running along the permissive path from May to July – loads of poppies and cornflowers which added a blaze of colour. We will be reseeding the annual flower area early in the Spring and slightly extending it.
The main area is seeded with perennials which we always knew would be a long job before we saw any significant results. At first glance the field seemed to have been taken over by grass, but our expert, Ed Cross visited in June, got down on his hands and knees, and was reeling off a long list of perennials which are beginning to grow. The theory is, that the perennials should grow stronger next year, and eventually, out compete the grasses which currently predominate.
Lots of work took place clearing brambles on the western boundary, to allow the trees access to light and hopefully to thrive. Billy King-Harman put in a solid performance with his strimmer, which was a great help. All the guards which had been restricting growth, were removed and this should also give the trees a boost.
All the trees planted by Barcham in early March survived the first year, though there were some anxious moments during May and June, when emergency watering parties had to be carried out. We lost two of the trees transplanted from the copse area. Sadly, this included the BagLadies tree which had been strategically planted in the middle of the field. This will be replaced over the winter. We were delighted to see that the small oak tree, grown from an acorn by Wendy Brooks, really seems to have taken off and is thriving.
This year, we installed two Information Boards at either end of the field. These were produced for us by Fitzpatrick Woolmer, based on photographs and text provided by us. We also installed two smaller boards which feature QR Codes. These encourage passing walkers to make on the spot donations to support the meadow. We don’t expect to make a fortune out of these, but every little helps, and they are being used.
The nest boxes, which were kindly sponsored by villagers and friends, had a really successful season with 50% of the 32 boxes being occupied, mainly by great and blue tits. Although we didn’t have a barn owl in the large owl box in the centre of the field, it was occupied by a pair of kestrels, who successfully raised three young and it was a pleasure to watch them coming and going over the spring and early summer. Red kites, buzzards and marsh harriers have all been seen regularly over the meadow. Far more sightings than in previous years, which
There are roe deer and muntjac as well as a good population of hares. Butterflies, including meadow brown, gatekeeper, common blue, Essex skipper, comma, peacocks and red admirals are quite common, especially on the western boundary. We are sure the number of birds, insects, animal and wildflowers will increase as the meadow develops. The process has already started. With the help of Gemma Walker and Garry Hibbett from NWT, we carried out a BioBlitz on the meadow, recording the variety of species of birds, plants and insects. This has given us a yardstick against which to measure future progress. Following on from this, we hosted an event in mid -2024 for NWT where we showed visitors, both from the village and from throughout Norfolk, what was involved in starting up a project like Jubilee Meadow. This was well supported, and we are looking to do a repeat next year to show our residents just what we are aiming to achieve. We finally managed to get the field
in early November, a job which needs to be done annually to remove the nutrients which would otherwise restrict the growth of wildflowers. Thanks to Harry Bett for doing this for us.
To end the year, Jules and Janek are coming back before Christmas, to plant a further batch of 20 trees. These will be spread out at random over the field. Once again, many thanks to all those who have made donations and sponsored a tree. Your generosity is fully appreciated. There are four trees left – let me know if you would like to sponsor one of them.
We have lots more planned for next year, including a demonstration of traditional scything methods. Do let us know if you would like to help in any way whatsoever. We are delighted at how the community has taken to the Jubilee Meadow project and we would like to encourage even more involvement. We are grateful to those who have donated to support bird boxes, memorial benches, tables, and trees. We owe a particular vote of thanks to Thornham Parish Council for their generous grant which has allowed us to maintain the field throughout the year.
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