Grassland Management

The Somme meadow is being cut as part of the grassland restoration project. It will take several scything sessions to clear it all because the blackthorn / hawthorn regrowth makes the meadow quite difficult to scythe. This regrowth may need to be cut back separately.

The cut material will be left in situ to dry off before being raked up and moved to the margins of the meadow. A manual hay baler is currently being made for FOHW by Ripon Men’s Shed, funded by the Skell Valley Project. In future grass meadow cuttings will be dried off, then raked and baled up. The resulting bales will either be used on site or taken off site to be disposed off. This will prevent unsightly heaps of grass cutting accumulating onsite.