Plant surveys on Strawberry Field – Saturday 3rd of June at 10 am -12

Matt Tomlinson of Friends of Strawberry Field and UEA meadows is organising a baseline survey of the plant life on the evolving meadow. Some of you will have heard Matt speak at the recent Eaton Eco Fair and/or at last year’s YVS AGM.

Matt writes: “As last year was the first proper year that Strawberry Field was managed as a wildflower meadow, we are keen to get a baseline for the richness and diversity of plant life on the field. This will give us an idea of the positive impact of this new management (cut, collect and removing arisings off site) and add to the value of the site. It will also give data to the Norfolk biodiversity information service. They are calling for this kind of baseline data and would very much appreciate our data.

A bit early, but you might find a fabulous Bee Orchid. Photo: Matt Tomlinson

The surveys will be by Quadrat (a simple square grid) thrown on the ground and a set number of plants marked if present (rapid grassland assessment). Experienced people will be in the teams to help out. If we have enough people, we can look for plant species not yet recorded on the meadow.

As always everyone is welcome and it’s a great opportunity to get up close with the meadows flora and insect life.”

The more of us there, the more we can achieve, so please join Matt and the Friends on Saturday 3rd of June from 10 am – 12. Meet by the gate at 10 am (if a bit late wander down and look for activity on the meadow).