Rewilding Kick-starters

Boothby Wildland, March 2024

To help rewilding progress in the early years, we can help ‘kick-start’ the land and soil’s recovery. You may have already spotted some willow whips appearing, or piles of deadwood and brash in the middle of the large fields – encouraging new growth as well as animals to visit and play their part in spreading seeds.

One kick-starter we’ve been trialing is the creation of some ‘rough and loose’, a conservation term for creating some small ‘hills and hollows’ that will, put simply, end up something akin to a lunar landscape!

The aim is to create diversity in structure across a site. Although the land is sloping in parts, our large fields are incredibly flat. Rough and loose will help give variety, creating areas for water to sit, as well as establishing south facing banks as well as more shady patches.

We’ve also identified areas where the limestone bedrock, which is very characteristic of the wider area, sits not far below the surface. By creating areas of thin limestone soils, we’re helping increase the diversity of plants across Boothby. Limestone grasslands are known to be rich areas for wildlife, supporting a variety of specialist plants, which in turn host different types of insects.

In some areas, and in partnership with the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust, we’ve spread ‘green hay’ – the cuttings of species rich wildflower margins – to provide a seed source on the degraded soils, that wouldn’t otherwise find its way very quickly to the Wildland. This hay is spread over the ground and some seeds take root and establish. Our green hay sites are doing amazingly well, and we were particularly excited to find yellow rattle (Rhinanthus minor), an important species for establishing wildflower meadows. This pretty yellow flower is semi-parasitic on grass, meaning it reduces the vigour of competitive grasses, allowing other flowers to establish.

So, watch this space as we begin some initial trials. And don’t be alarmed if you see us digging… we’re just doing some exploring and giving nature a helping hand.