Plans are progressing well to restore nature across John Clare country to how it would have been when the poet was alive.
The John Clare Countryside vision – led by Langdyke – involves parishes between Peterborough and Stamford involved in different restoration schemes.
And a full time team has been installed – led by a Langdyke board member – to manage the project, thanks to a financial grant.
As a result it is wonderful to see so much habitat creation going on across the John Clare Countryside. Some of this is the direct result of the energy of the partnership team, led by Mike Horne.
Over the last few months, they have planted trees, hedges, bulbs and wildflower seeds across many villages. The evidence can be seen by new hedgerows along the Helpston – Glinton Road, opposite the road into Etton.
And we are also seeing large stretches of new hedgerow being planted by our local farmers, most noticeably north of the Maxey Cut, along the road to Helpston.
Trust chair Richard Astle said “It’s all great to see and a significant contribution to nature recovery.”
The Trust has also signed a new 10-year lease on the Bainton Heath site with National Grid, securing the site’s future for nature.
This new lease heralds a much closer relationship with National Grid who are investing significantly in the future of the reserve, providing funding over the 10 years to help nature.
Projects will include new fencing to exclude deer and allow the scrub to regenerate and perhaps tempt Nightingales to return to the site.
Richard said: “We will also be improving the viewing facilities from the adjacent public footpath and creating open ground for rare annual plants, lichens and mosses and invertebrates, including the lovely Dingy and Grizzled Skipper, while maintaining plenty of Wood Small-reed for the rare Concolorous moth.”
The Trust is also in discussions for the establishment of two more nature reserves locally. These opportunities could help us to expand the land managed for wildflowers at Vergette Wood Meadow at Etton and another wetland site.
Over the last few weeks, the JCC team have been busy hosting events for both local volunteers and corporate friends, resulting in hundreds of metres of new hedgerow and scores more trees being planted.
Mike Horne explained: “We’re also busy meeting with councillors of some of the nineteen parish councils we’re working with, to find new opportunities for planting wildflower bulbs and putting up bird and bat boxes within the villages this autumn.
“We’re also planning on attending as many of the village meetings and fetes as we can this summer to help spread the word about the JCC project, and how folks doing just a few small things in their own gardens will be a big help to their local wildlife.
There have been two meetings of the JCC Verges Working Group, where we discussed how best to improve the condition of our most important road verges using a pot of money secured by Peterborough City Council from developers. This is likely to involve an additional cut-and-collect to try and control the vigorous growth of rank grass resulting from warmer, wetter winters and increasing levels of aerial nitrogen.