Seven of us met up with ranger Ashley on a warm and dry morning. The Merseyside volunteers were also there so we made a 12 strong team ‘looking forward’ to a day of ragwort destruction.
Cheshire has lost 99% of its meadows since the 1930s. The NT is using Highland cattle for conservation grazing to increase biodiversity and encourage wildflowers and pollinators. Ragwort is tasty but poisonous to grazing animals even up to 10 weeks after being cut.
We threw bagfuls over the fence so it could safely decay.
After a couple of hours
‘Sheep (or cattle) may safely graze’.
A herd of highland cattle are already in the field opposite waiting patiently to relocate.
After lunch we moved on to another field near the Apprentice House. The ragwort here was so thick it looked like a plantation. Too much to finish in one day!
We accomplished a lot more than Ashley expected and had time to do a few small jobs such as moving cattle troughs. This gave her a head start on the work for the coming week and the amount we did proved the value of teaming up with other volunteer groups.
Jean
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