All Insects Need Our Help

Why create a wildflower meadow?
Since the 1930s, the UK has lost a staggering 97% of its wildflower meadows. This essential part of the UK landscape has been diminishing and thereby damaging our ecosystem year on year.
When wild flower meadows vanish so do pollinators, as well as other insects and animals that eat insects, such as birds, hedgehogs and bats.
Just as shocking is that British flora is so depleted that there are now more non-native plants than native species.  British wildflowers are under threat and therefore so are the pollinators they feed which eventually has a real impact on the food we eat ourselves.

As bees are in particular decline in the UK, the diversity of wildflower meadows offer them an ideal habitat. Some species of bee have evolved to eat only pollens and the resulting competition for food sources has inevitably caused bee populations as a whole to fall sharply.

The plan for a wildflower meadow will offer:
Taking about a third of an acre on a section of the Lye Field, a wildflower meadow on this prime site, adjacent to the footpath and road will be visible to everyone - even those just passing through, adding a touch of enchantment and a sense of serenity to our village. This community asset will be capable of supporting more than 300 000 honey bees.  The small section of meadow will also reduce the mowing maintenance around the existing trees.

How you can support this community initiative?

A concrete way to show just how much we care about our village and its appearance would be to make a donation to purchase the seed necessary.

One kilo of wildflower perennial seed (from a highly reputable company which supplies the National Trust) costs £190 to cover 330 square metres. Would you be prepared to make a donation of £100, £50 or £25 to enable us to create Seend’s own wildflower meadow?  We hope to sow in September 2024 and reap the benefits for the village, its residents and pollinators for years to come.  If you are a UK taxpayer you can help us further by Gift Aiding your donation.  You can do this now by adding your donation to the Lye Field's existing Crowdfunder at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/seend-lye-recreation-field-305565

Please use Wildflowers as your payment reference - thank you!

Volunteers

This small project is being undertaken by Lye Field volunteers and friends of the Lye Field charity, who aim to create the wildflower field margin at very little cost to the Lye field.  A number of village people have already pledged seed funding, paid for the machinery hire and pitched in through sweated labour! 

Removed turf?

End of season pitch repairs cost the Lye Field around £500 in trucked-in soil and grass seed.  At the end of the 2023 season we used 3,000 kg of topsoil for repairs.  The removed soil and turf will be recycled for end of season repairs, reducing cost to the charity.

South end of the Seend Lye Field July 2024