Our Living Churchyard

Many of you will, like me, have enjoyed watching ‘The Wild Isles’ on television. While one aim of this programme was to show that, in order to see wildlife spectacles, it is not necessary to travel to expensive, far-off locations, the underlying message from Sir David Attenborough is
‘The truth is, every one of us, no matter where we live, can and must play a part in
restoring nature to our isles. Never has it been more important to do this for
ourselves and for our wildlife’.

Our Living Churchyard – the area on the right as you go in through the lych gate – has exactly this aim. The area is left unmown until late summer. The late cutting allows the wildflowers that grow there to set seed. The grass is cut and the hay raked off. This reduces the fertility of the soil. It is this which, over the past six years, has allowed wildflowers to grow as they are no longer smothered by tall, fast-growing grass. You are invited to walk along the paths through the middle to have a closer look.

After six years of such management, you can note the ever - increasing diversity of plants, compared with the much more limited assortment in the areas that are mown. It isn’t, of course, ever going to look like a herbaceous border because wild flowers are not that big and showy: but the number of different species increases every year. Except for one teasel plant – kindly donated by Gabriella Bullock last year – all the plants growing here are native and self-sown. In early spring there is not much yet in flower. Dandelions, daisies, hawkweeds and field woodrush are leading the way as I write. Look more closely however and you will see the different leaves of the wide range of plants now growing here.

The hummocks in the area are the nests of yellow meadow ants. Ants turn and aerate the soil, allowing water and oxygen to reach plant roots. They eat a wide variety of organic material and provide food for many different organisms. You won’t often see these ants on the surface, because they feed on the honeydew from root aphids, which they breed in their nests. These don’t bite or sting so they won’t hurt you!

Do take the time to enjoy the spectacle that nature will put on for you through the summer months. Rest a while, watch and listen, and enjoy the display of the flowers, the birds and the insects that call our churchyard home.

Nigel Symington