Developing Milton Keynes' wildflower meadows
This summer we have started to trial our new seed harvesting machine. This new piece of equipment connects to our tractors and collects wildflower seed from our rich meadows, such as Stonepit Field in Great Linford. With a little help from our conservation volunteers, we then sieve the seed to seperate from the chaff before being spread in parks across the city. This new machinery will support our efforts to further develop the wildflower diversity in Milton Keynes which helps benefit all the species that use them.
Lewis Dickinson, Senior Biodiversity Officer at The Parks Trust says:
"Having a machine like this will be a fantastic tool to enriching the biodiversity of our grasslands across the city. Taking seed from rich meadows and spreading it at sites we want to improve will provide more wildflowers on these sites for pollinators and other meadow insects. The seed collector will scale our ability to improve the quality of our grasslands across the city and meet our biodiversity objectives."
Wildflower meadows provide a huge food resource for pollinators, providing nectar and pollen that they rely on. Pollinators are species that help fertilise plants, carrying male pollen to the stigma of the female plants. Many pollinators are insects such as butterflies, bees, beetles, hoverflies and moths. Without them, many plants would not reproduce.
If you're interested in making a difference to your local environment, you can help by planting wildflower seeds in your garden. Check out our handy tips on how to sow wildflower seeds which includes species recommendations and three ways to create a habitat for wildflowers at home, just like our parkland meadows.
