Every year Meadfleet demonstrate our commitment to biodiversity by following No Mow May – an initiative led by wildlife charity Plantlife to encourage gardeners, landowners and anybody with a lawn of some grassland to ‘let it grow; throughout May and beyond.
Our team of Regional Managers selects suitable locations on developments across the country where the normal routine mowing regime can be relaxed. This enables us to assess the diversity of plants growing in the sward, and provides enormous benefits for wildlife. For example by allowing the sward to grow common wildflowers found in lawns have the opportunity to flower, enhancing the visual impact and providing nectar and pollen for our pollinating insects.
Wildflowers such as daisy, creeping buttercup, meadow buttercup, selfheal, white clover and dandelion are commonly found in lawns but seldom get the chance to flower. As well as these common species No Mow May increases the chance of finding some less common flowers – for example common spotted orchids, bee orchids and marsh orchids have been found in some of our grasslands. The grasses themselves also provide benefits for biodiversity when allowed to grow taller. Insects such as damselflies and dragonflies will perch on the tall stems, and a number of butterfly and moth species lay their eggs on some of our common grass species – they are unable to do this on regularly mown grass.
Housing Developer Partner: Strata
We recently teamed up with our partners at housing developer Strata to lead a community event at our Definition development in Derby. Both Meadfleet and Strata are keen to follow and to promote No Mow May as the ‘new normal’ – providing diverse grassland and wildflower habitats in open spaces and communal areas. The event was held on a sunny morning in late May, to demonstrate the benefits to wildlife that No Mow May can achieve.
Meadfleet had been managing a section of the open space to follow No Mow May, and nearby were a mown lawn, a wildflower patch and a pond. We were able to explain and demonstrate the wildlife benefits by comparing the number of flowers present in the No Mow May area to the mown lawn, and the noticeable visual difference. We also encouraged attendees to join us in a ‘minibeast hunt’ – using nets and pooters to count and study insects using the different habitats. We found an array of butterflies, bees, and damselflies using the taller vegetation. We then conducted some ‘pond dipping’ – using a net to sweep through the water and checking what had been caught. We found an array of wildlife including damselfly nymphs, backswimmers, hog-lice and pond skaters.
Engaging Residents in their Open Spaces
The attendees enjoyed the experience of being close to nature and really appreciated the variety of wildlife using their local environment. Everybody received a goodie bag with equipment for wildlife activities and packets of wildflower seeds for their gardens, and also bird nesting boxes provided by a community project who work in conjunction with Strata. Some of the nest boxes are being installed on mature trees around the Definition open spaces.
We look forward to working in partnership with Strata on more community education events in the future.
If you would like us to host a community event on your development, email us at communities@meadfleet.co.uk or visit our dedicated community page.
About Meadfleet
Meadfleet is a leading sustainable land-adopting management company, established in 1995. We manage over 350 developments and 40,000 residential properties across England and Wales, supported by in-house expertise and decades of experience.
Our in-house ecologists bring expertise in Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG), and we offer management of BNG delivery both on managed developments and offsite areas, funded through customer contributions or commuted sums. Our adoption model relieves developers of ongoing liabilities and management costs.
The Meadfleet approach removes onerous responsibilities from homeowners while encouraging resident engagement in the stewardship of their local environment. We are members of The Property Ombudsman Scheme (TPOS), providing customers with free, independent redress if required. We also welcome and support resident groups, creating a valuable two-way dialogue that strengthens community involvement.
As a land-adopting management company, we take long-term responsibility for open space, building strong community relations and implementing ongoing management and improvement plans. Our independent, holistic approach ensures open spaces are managed sustainably for the benefit of residents, biodiversity, and the wider environment.