About the event

This day’s course is designed for community groups, parish councils, churches and local community activists wishing to optimise their land for wildflowers. Led by Marie Lagerberg, botany enthusiast and volunteer conservation adviser for Suffolk Wildlife Trust.

An indoor session will provide insight into assessing the land as well as its value within the wider landscape. This will include how to support key species associated with grassland such as wildflowers, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, butterflies and other pollinators and what they need to thrive. This knowledge will help shape decisions about the type of grassland to aim for in your local patch; as well as methods for creating or restoring meadows such as through management, green hay or seeding.

Management options including grazing, cutting regimes, scything, and identifying & guiding contractors and how to create a plan of action will be explored. We will also touch on community engagement, public access considerations and how people can be enthused to support work on the ground and become involved in monitoring and recording.

After the indoor session at the Riverside Centre in Bungay we will walk along the river to visit the beautiful Falcon Meadow to witness first-hand what is possible when a community takes action for wildlife. You will explore the different options to consider when looking at grassland management for wildlife given the different locations and resources. We are very grateful to the River Waveney Trust and community volunteers at Falcon Meadow for the opportunity to share their work; and Andrew Atterwell for the photo we are using. After the meadow visit in the afternoon, you will return to the Riverside Centre for a review and final questions session.

Tea and coffee will be provided. Please feel free to bring your own re-usable mug, or a flask.

You will also need:
A packed lunch
Notepad and pen
A camera or binoculars if you wish

Please dress suitably for the weather and for walking around Falcon Meadow.

When booking please ensure your email/contact address is correct as it will be used to send event joining instructions. If you do not receive these instructions after booking, please contact: wildlearning@suffolkwildlifetrust.org

Please note that your booking is non-refundable and non-transferable and we run all our courses based on a minimum number of participants. You can find our full Terms & Conditions via this link:  https://www.suffolkwildlifetrust.org/wildlearninginfo

This course is part of a new programme of Community Wildlife Courses arranged by Suffolk Wildlife Trust to support communities, parish councils and churches in optimising the habitat for wildlife in their local public spaces. Topics in the programme include:
Wildlife in your Parish
Community Ponds for Wildlife
Understanding your community's river
Community meadows
Churchyard management and skill sharing
Understanding your Community's habitat
Community hedges for Wildlife
Community Trees & Woodland for Wildlife

To find all our courses as they are launched you can visit our Adult Learning page here: www.suffolkwildlifetrust.org/wildlearning

If the course you wish to attend is full or you cannot make the date, please let us know so that we can register your interest and let you know of opportunities planned for the future. You can contact us on: team.wilder@suffolkwildlifetrust.org or Tel: 01473 890 089.

If you are a community or individual already taking action for wildlife, please do tell us about it and get involved with Team Wilder. To find out more and log your action, visit the website here: https://www.suffolkwildlifetrust.org/team-wilder