Rewilding project to expand at Macclesfield Leisure Centre
By Alex Greensmith
31st Aug 2022 | Local News
Wildflowers are in bloom at Macclesfield Leisure Centre, thanks to the help of Macclesfield volunteers.
The patch of grass, to the left of the reception of the Priory Lane place of recreation, first had seeds planted there in 2019.
Now, the project has gone so well that they are extracting seeds from the wildflowers to plant even more land adjacent to the plot.
The project involves four parties, including new volunteer environmental charity Macc Wild Network.
"Macc Wild Network is a local environmental charity set up last year, with the aim to make more biodiverse, interconnected green spaces in Macclesfield. Trying to make it more climate resistant, a better habitat for humans and animals as well," said Macclesfield resident Diana Moss.
"This is out pilot project we are doing in partnership with Everybody Health and Leisure [who run Macclesfield Leisure Centre], Cheshire Wildlife Trust and ANSA.
"What we have asked them to do is to stop mowing here. So what we now have is areas of long grass, and that has increased the wildflowers, butterflies, insects and voles that come here. All the way up the food chain, we are hoping this has a good impact on wildlife.
"We have found that local people really like it, and find it so much more interesting to walk around than just plain grass.
"People can really connect with nature, just by seeing what season it is. Now you can look at the long grass, and see it is looking golden and dried out in the late summer sun."
In addition to the extra plot of land that has now been allocated to rewild, Macc WildNetwork also have an community fruit orchard at the site, just feet away from the carpark and Macclesfield Leisure Centre Building.
An old-school method has used to extract the seeds to replant on more land, known as scything, which uses a scythe to also cut and promote regrowth.
"You can cut this with a mower or brush cutter, but they are very noisy and do not give wildlife a chance to move out of the way," added Diana.
"Scything is much less disruptive to insects. And it is nicer for humans as well. You don't have the fumes and you don't have the noise.
"You are working as a team together so you can talk, and some people find it quite therapeutic.
"Once we have cut the hay, we will then move it and scatter on new areas we are grateful to expand the meadow into, and near to the orchard."
"Other flowers such as knapweed and sunflowers have also done well on the site."
In total, Macc Wildlife Network have created create four new meadow areas at the Leisure Centre and on sites nearby including a green hay plot St Alban's School, also on on Priory Lane.
The Scything Training Day was run under the expert tuition of Danny Hodgson from Handpowered.
The day also covered scythe maintenance and peening (sharpening). Although proficiency with a scythe takes a bit of practice the course was a perfect introduction to this traditional art.
Adam Linnet, of Cheshire Wildlife Trust, explained why rewilding with flowers is so vital to our ecosystem.
"In Cheshire we have lost 99 per cent of our species of grasslands", he said.
"It used to cover 15 per cent of Cheshire. Which meant, if you were a bumblebee you would only have to go seven metres to find another metre of wildflower meadow.
"Nationally now that is 220 metres for a bee to find another wildflower meadow. In Cheshire, it is 660 [above the national average].
"Which gives you that context of how big the percentage declines are.
"If you lose the habitat, you lose the species associated with it. So all the pollinators, all the food, even the common wildlife are now in quite rapid decline.
"So it is important to bring the right habitat back, especially as insect species bounce back quite quickly.
"Hopefully from that, then bird populations can recover, mammals can recover, and we can start to rebuild that ecosystem that we need to survive on Earth as well. That is why it is so important.
"As a Trust we rewild about 10-15 hectares a year."
The rewilding project was also part-funded by the National Lottery.
Scything is also a lot cheaper than brush cutting, and spreads the workload out instead of concentrating it onto one person.
While Macc Wildlife Network is volunteer-led, it could inspire future employment, as according to The Guardian "rewilding 5% of England could create nearly 20,000 jobs in rural communities".
Macc Wildlife Network is a local environmental charity set up in 2021 to work with land owners, managers and communities in and around Macclesfield to create wildlife-rich spaces and nature corridors. If you'd like to get involved, you can contact Macc Wildlife Network on these links.
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