Cows return to the Meadows!
As announced at our spring AGM cows have returned to the Meadows! Our contractor has been putting in a new grazing fence to enclose West Meadow; this will allow the Trust to extend and alternate the areas of the Meadow that can be grazed by the cattle. The grazing helps open up gaps in thick grass sward and allows a wider range of more delicate plants to develop and seed into the bare patches, enhancing the diversity of the Meadow – we look forward to seeing any changes!
Thank you to Allan Arthurs who has created a video of the cattle happily in the fields and the layout of the new fencing.
The cattle have grazed Oak Meadow for the past couple of months, and the results of their labours are looking good. An over-friendly larger cow that caused a bit of consternation to a few Meadow users has been removed from the site. We have also had one or two reports of people allowing their dogs to chase the cattle. We’d like to remind users that people and dogs are still extremely welcome, but please keep your dog under control and away from the cattle. If the cattle become stressed, they can run around more quickly and become a danger to other users, and dogs also risk getting kicked and badly injured. Similarly, please do not get too close or pet the cattle, they may become over-friendly and approach other people who may be more nervous around animals.
Image courtesy of D Gosnell
Cattle with their large mouths use their tongues to twist around longer vegetation and pull, which can help to open up the sward, giving space to allow more delicate plants to develop. Their large mouths also mean they are non-selective grazers and will just munch away as they move through the grassland, often leaving areas of longer, coarse grasses to create a more diverse structure – this leaves places to hide for things like butterflies or small mammals. They may also leave some patches of plants traditionally considered ‘weeds’, such as thistles or docks. Within a natural landscape, these have their own benefits, both have insect species that rely on them uniquely, and as the land is not being intensively managed for agriculture, they are not a problem. If any species does spread or become dominant, selective management may be used to ensure we have as diverse a mix as possible on the Meadows.
New Fencing
The fence runs parallel to the central hedgeline, and parallel to the river, leaving a corridor between the river and the fence. This allows people to walk around the southern edge of West Meadow to reach the kissing gate into Oak Meadow. There are gates so that access along the existing public footpaths is unaffected. Our intention is that either Oak Meadow or West Meadow will be grazed alternately, so that plants can be allowed to flower and seed, and walkers will always have access to a walk through one Meadow or the other, avoiding the cattle if they wish to do so.
Meadow users will notice that most of the new fencing uses light metal posts rather than wooden that have been used previously. These should be more durable when the Meadow floods, as it has done more frequently this year.
Thank you to David Hutchison, the fencing contractor and also to Phyllis Tuckwell with helping with the storage of materials.
We hope that you have a very enjoyable summer and that you all continue to enjoy the sight of the cattle grazing contentedly!
And if you would like to make a donation towards the Meadows and support the work that we do, you can do so HERE
The more we raise from our members donations the safer the future of the Meadows is.
Yours,
Nick Green - Chair
