Project to dig scrape, plant 400 wild flowers and raise the level of footpath

This project was jointly funded by the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme [via the Trust for Oxfordshire's Environment from WREN (£3255) and the WREN Gift-Aid scheme (£2816)], and Oxfordshire County Council (£1000).  It is now complete.

A local contractor (RF Hayden) dug the scrape in the meadow to a depth of about one metre on 18 May 2006. The soil was used to raise the level of 50 metres of the track which was below the general level of the footpath and tended to flood earlier. The level of the culvert had earlier been raised by a substantial slab of reinforced concrete with parapets of local oak beams bolted to the concrete. This work was done by trustees and volunteers. 

The soil was covered with polypropylene membrane, and a 100 mm layer of stone scalpings sourced from the County. This was then rolled. A seed mix of wild flowers and grass was sown on the bare earth at the sides of the raised track, and was covered with C150 biodegradable geotextile.

On 23rd May 2006, the scrape was planted with 400 wild flower plants of 21 varieties by two shifts of children from Dorchester primary school, accompanied by the head teacher, Helen Clark. The plants were of local provenance (apart from two species) and were supplied by Charles Flower who personally instructed the children and supervised the whole operation, helped by ten adult volunteers. The children were enthusiastic and worked hard to plant the flowers in hard clayey soil. A picture of the planting appeared in the Oxford Times of 26 May 2006 (see picture on left below) and the project was mentioned on Radio Oxford.

The scrape was then fenced, and the whole area mulched by volunteers with bark chippings from Nuneham Woods. In the subsequent dry spell, the plants were watered as needed. A simple opening event is planned for Thursday 3rd August, when we hope that one of the young planters will 'cut the tape'.

The project attracted much local interest and goodwill, and we hope that the children will be involved in aftercare of the wild flowers. An interpretation board has been fixed with the following text: 

This 'scrape' was dug in May 2006.  On 23 May 2006, 26 school children and the head teacher from Dorchester Primary School planted 400 wild flowers, with the help of ten adult volunteers. The plants were supplied by Charles Flower of Flower Farms, Shalbourne, Wilts who supervised the planting of the following 21 species:

Drier areas: betony, devilsbit scabious and tufted vetch.

Damp areas: hemp agrimony, marsh marigold, marsh birdsfoot trefoil, meadow sweet, ragged robin, sneezewort, St John's wort, valerian*, water avens*, fleabane, greater burnet and lady's smock.

Wet areas: angelica, branched bur-reed, pond sedge, yellow flag iris, purple loosestrife and gipsywort.

To keep the soil moist, the plants were mulched with composted bark chips from Nuneham Woods. 

The scrape has been fenced to keep out rabbits, cattle and dogs. 

The soil is sandy clay to a depth of about 1.5 metres, with gravel below. The scrape at its deepest is about one metre below the surrounding meadow. The level of the water table can be monitored and is usually over one metre below the meadow. 

The trustees hope that, over the years, these plants will seed widely and increase the biodiversity and attractiveness of the meadow, and that the children who planted the flowers will continue to take an interest in them and help with their aftercare.

* These two species came from East Anglia, the others were all sourced locally.

Pictures of scrape project

Pictures of path project