Conservation grassland

Eco Church

Conservation grassland when it is mown, needs to be completely cleared of the resulting hay, otherwise the dead grasses will rot down, enriching the soil, which in turn encourages the growth of robust grasses that smother the meadow flowers. Having cleared the remains of the hay from the conservation area, we were able to count twenty Yellow Meadow Ants nests in the turf, some having grown to the size of mole hills. That was a good indication of the building up of the meadow ecosystem over the years. Within the nests there will be very small white Ant Woodlice which provide a cleaning service to the ants by living on the detritus within the nest. These have been seen in more accessible ant’s nests in other parts of the churchyard. The ant larvae provide food for Green Woodpeckers which have very long sticky tongues so they can reach deep into the nests ‘fishing’ for grubs, much like the mammalian anteaters of South America. If you find a series of round holes in your lawn, you too may have the occasional visiting Green Woodpecker, we certainly do.