One year ago, this 1/4 acre was just an area of mown grass. I then took the topsoil off, formed some banks, made a wildlife pond, sowed the area with wildflowers & planted many native trees & shrubs. When I visited this week to carry out the first hay cut, it’s apparent that the area is now a thriving habitat for so much wildlife. Field voles & shrews inhabit the meadow, which Kestrels & Barn owls now use for hunting. Marsh Harriers have also been seen hunting along the margins. A pair of Hares have moved into the longer grassy areas that are left uncut around the banks & margins. Stock Doves are regular visitors to the pond for bathing/drinking, as have been Grey Wagtails, Sparrowhawks & Oystercatchers to name but a few. The pond has been colonised by many species of insects, including a myriad of Dragonflies, Great diving beetles & Water-boatmen. The above is in addition to the many species of Bees, Butterflies & Moths that are now benefitting from the already florally diverse wildflower meadow, and this is only very early stages. Never let it be said that nature isn’t remarkably resilient, opportunistic & absolutely CAN bounce back, given a chance. I will continue to manage this site (which takes very little maintenance) over the coming years and will report all my new findings. If a single 1/4 acre plot can provide this much habitat for wildlife within the space of a year, imagine how much wildlife could benefit as a result of all of us doing our bit for nature in our own gardens/green spaces. Best bit is, you don’t even need 1/4 of an acre to achieve this 👍