Arriving at Ty Mawr Lime to collect the hired seed harvester it soon became clear that the Brecknock trailer was nowhere near big enough for this machine. Luckily Nigel was happy to let us borrow their trailer but that required going to another site to collect it and then returning for the seed harvester. This did save time in the long run because we were able to get the quad on the trailer with the harvester avoiding much shuttling between sites.
The seed is being collected as part of the Green Connections Project and will be distributed to landowners working with the project to increase biodiversity in their meadows as well as some community sites. Seed with local provenance is much better than buying in seed which may have come from other parts of the UK. Local sub-species may be better adapted to conditions in this area.
Trewalkin was deemed the easier site to try first as the access is easier and the site more level. It was necessary to learn how to man-handle the trailer ramps into position and unload the two machines safely. A bit of a challenge as both of us are fairly petite!
Trewalkin Meadow is a small, damp, flower-rich meadow at the foot of the Black Mountains between Llangorse and Talgarth. It is how much of Brecknock would have looked 100 years ago before the habitat was lost due to changes in farming practices. Flowers we hoped to collect see from were common spotted and early purple orchids, yellow rattle, betony, ragged robin, meadowsweet and great burnet. The Devil’s-bit Scabious wasn’t ready yet so we avoided the patches where it was dominant and will return to use a different collection method.
After a few runs of the field and we had a reasonable amount. The seed was spread out on a sheet in the sun to dry a bit while we had some lunch in the shade before loading up and moving on.
Cae Eglwys is another good example of a wildflower meadow but trickier all round for this operation. It is at a higher altitude and quite dry in places with amazing views of the Brecon Beacons. Knapweed, eyebright, harebells, fleabane, and sneezewort are among the flowers found here.
The access track is very rough and entrance to the field very awkward (don’t try to get here in a car!). However because it was so dry it was possible to turn around and unload outside of the reserve. The tough knapweed stems made it difficult to set the harvester at a good level to collect the lower growing plants. Much more debris was collected in the process at this site. But it can be sifted out. The sneezewort will be collected later.
This project has received funding through the Welsh Government Rural Communities - Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, which is funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the Welsh Government.