Piddington and Wheeler End Parish Council (who manage Piddington Green) adopted a Biodiversity Policy on 11th June 2024. The objective of the Policy is to work towards conserving and enhancing the biodiversity of the Council’s area.
The three wildflower areas on Piddington Green are part of the strategy to support the Policy and this has resulted in 31 species of wildflower that would not have existed in a mown environment. These areas were left to grow over the summer and then cut in October.
In November, to enhance the areas for wildflowers, Jonathan Cains and Councillor Simon Digby raked the cuttings away on the wildflower areas to prevent the resultant nutrition from re-fertilising the soil. Wildflowers hate nutritious soil. The remaining growth was mown as tightly as possible.
They slit the surface on the strip by the allotments and planted yellow rattle and dark mullein. These seeds usually aren’t in a hurry to germinate, and it may take up to two years to see any results.
Councillor Alison Pitcher and Simon Cains finished the whole process by collecting the arisings which were then used for compost.
Watch out for more wildflowers next Summer! These are exciting times for Piddington biodiversity.
Please contact Hayley Glasgow, clerk@piddingtonandwheelerend-pc.gov.uk if you have any questions or comments.