LOCAL GREEN SPACE MANAGEMENT IS A CUT ABOVE THE REST

We recently supported the Nether Broughton Wildlife Community Group through our Local Foundations initiative. The group formed after a piece of land was donated to the Parish Council so that this important green space could be appropriately managed. The wildlife area in this Leicestershire village is open for all to enjoy, whether for an organised event such as a church service or treasure hunt, or simply as a peaceful place to enjoy the wildlife that resides there.

One of the challenges faced by the group was how to keep the grass mown so the space could be enjoyed by the local community.  Located off three intersecting footpaths, the area is difficult to reach using a traditional mower, so the group approached Grace Homes to see if we could enable them to use a more traditional method of grassland management - scything. 

Not only would scything overcome the limited access, it would also provide many benefits, not least the lack of need for petrochemicals and the social aspect of bringing a group of people together in the fresh air. We were keen to fulfil the group's request and purchased several scythes as well as a group training day from Richard Brown of wildscythe.co.uk (Chair of the Scythe Association and recently crowned the Northern Scythe Champion).

If you would like to discover more about this group, you can contact them on Facebook at the Nether Broughton Wildlife Area. They would love to hear from you and hold regular volunteer days, where any support would be much appreciated.