There are few places as tranquil and beautiful as the Hunworth meadows in the middle Glaven valley. In 2008 cattle grazing recommenced at Hunworth (after a long absence) as part of a river-meadow restoration project enacted by the RGCG and the Stody Estate. In 2010 floodbanks were removed from the riverside to permit flooding of the meadows and then in 2011, to complete the restoration process, the river was re-meandered.
The RGCG (Carl Sayer, Pete Robinson and Tony Leach) has conducted plant surveys in the Hunworth meadow in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2012 with 2007 acting as a pre-restoration baseline. In each of these years we have recorded the plants in 1 x 1 m quadrats on a 10 m grid system giving us a massive 200+ quadrats to complete..uggg! The survey takes about a week of very full days; it’s hard work, but with barn owls overhead and the occasional plopping trout for company, it’s a good place to be! And while there we usually see all sorts of interesting wildlife – Common Lizard, Buzzard, Otter, Horse Leech, Small Copper (not a policeman), Slow Worm…you just never know.
So what have we found out?
Well, in all of 2007, 2008 and 2009 plant diversity was pretty low ( 7-8 species per quadrat) in the meadow due to dominance of one grass – Yorkshire Fog (Holcus lanatus). In Summer 2012, however, to our great surprise, things were very different and diversity had doubled to around 13-14 species per quadrat. The meadow also looked a lot better to, a bit more fen-like, and more colourful, due especially to higher abundances of Meadow Buttercup (Ranunculus acris)
This change was probably down to grazing reducing the former dominance of Yorkshire Fog and allowing other wild flowers and grasses to come through – a real success story. And it gets better…
On the 24th of June the meadow was flooded by the river, probably for the first time in 30-40 years. Myself and Pete ‘the map’ Robinson were surveying at the time and had to beat a hasty retreat when it started to get up and around the tops of our wellies! One of the major aims of the Hunworth restoration project was the reinstatement of flooding – so this has been achieved with the river bursting its banks on the first bend at the top of the meadow. In fact the meadows have been flooded two more times since then, most recently a few weeks ago. It might be expected that floods will bring in plant seeds from upstream, thus further diversifying the meadow’s vegetation. We will survey again in 2014 and see what surprises we find. We are hoping for orchids (they are in upstream meadows) and our fingers are crossed – you never know…
On a cold winter’s evening when I walk to the train station through the London streets my mind often returns to the meadows and long summer days next to the beautiful River Glaven.
Carl Sayer
Thanks to the Stody Estate for support and Natural Surroundings for much sustenance during our mid-afternoon breaks.