Green Tourism and the C&MC

Morning

So, last year when we were told about the club's involvement with green tourism we straight away thought "not even more workload!" but after spending time learning about it and planning the site with the regional manager it became quite an enjoyable task. It helped to change the attitude of "mow everything within an inch of it's life then do it again". On the back of that I think some people last year may have taken "no mow may" a bit too literal, hopefully that's changed this year?

So just on my site we have developed some quite large areas back to nature and some areas that we have a planting programme. No mow zones are just a part of green tourism, it's also a mindset adjustment of how we manage things. What seemed at the start to be a chore has developed into an enjoyable part of site management. After lots of graft last year we were given a bronze award for our achievement which was pretty satisfying. Carrying on the work this season has seen us improve to a silver award. I doubt in future we will get the gold award as this would involve things like solar power, changing appliances etc which would be cost restrictive but we will carry on what we have achieved so far. It's been well received by our members on site and I'm sure the local wildlife appreciate it too!

JK

An insightful description of a site and it’s involvement in Green Tourism there and how it works in practice. It appears you have been enlightened to the cause as your involvement and enjoyment took off! As you say, No Mow May is not about a total season’s abstinence from mowing but in fact a properly managed groundwork regime which works alongside nature. The message is obviously getting through. Keep up the excellent work, JK and all other site staff around the network.👍

Morning

Anyone who's been to this site, or a look at the site plan will see a large circular area in the middle of the site with pitches around the perimeter. I've cut 12 meters in for pitches and left the middle part to do it's thing. The different grasses look good in the summer but ideally I think a wildflower meadow type thing would look great and be a real focal point. I was never good at pie r squared but I reckon it's around an acre. Any advice please on how to get such a large wild flower bed to grow and flourish?

JK

This is my daughter’s wildflower and pollinator area. The hard work was in the preparation which started last autumn and continued early spring until we sowed the seed, a wild flower meadow mix containing pollinator plants. Preparation is key to success as all the dominant grasses, brambles, thistles etc had to be removed by hand as we didn’t want to use weedkiller. Those species have their place but the surrounding area is dominated by them and still largely is. ‘Her little patch’ had also been covered with building debris and garden rubbish thrown over fences for a few decades and needed sorting out. The hard work done the area was then left to do its own thing once sown in early March until last week when she cut back and spread the resultant new crop of seeds further afield so to speak. The ‘patch’ was much admired by dog walkers and alike and even the council workers who do cut the grass, her slope is too steep for them to manage by machine, loved the display. The number of insect species we have now seen has been incredible and with them the birds. So many more than in past years. She has become a bit of a wildlife guerrilla gardener now. Her neighbours have expressed a wish to do similar next year so the mission continues. 

I like the "Guerrilla Gardener" phrase micky. 

Food for thought, thanks

JK

Great idea JK. Large area wildflowers do take some managing, has to be thorough ground prep as Micky says, and it’s all about getting the right mix of seeds for the area, otherwise one or two species end up dominating. Another factor that visitors might comment on, is that usually the ground is scarified in Winter, so doesn’t look great until say around April May, it can look glorious for around three months or so, and then the area needs to be left for the seed heads to grow, swell, dry, until it’s ready for mowing. At this stage, it might look a bit unkempt, but it’s essential to get the seeds. I’m not sure how often new seed is used, but suspect it will need to be. There’s someone on here who has turned a patch of Devon tangled garden into a beautiful wildflower area, who might have a better idea than most, I will try and see if I can find their post and photos.

It will be a mindset change for some visitors, those who expect pristine boring grass everywhere, carefully mown, but the results ought to please most folks. My home town is well recognised for its “Rivers of colour”, a good deal of roadside verges, roundabouts etc….. or given over to wildflowers, and if the sun/rain combination is good, the results are amazing and a delight to drive along. 

We have some rough grass around what we euphemistically call our orchard (6 or 7 trees). We cut the grass very short and raked all the cuttings off and with the raking ensured there was bare earth. We sowed a wildflower mix appropriate to our soil from a specialist (we used Emorsgate, but other companies are available) plus extra yellow rattle (which helps slow grass growth). This has performed well. We already had some wildflowers like bugle and germander speedwell. We now have lots more and for the first year this year (about 5 years in) masses of knapweed. We get lots different grasses and lots of insects including grasshoppers/crickets. We cut it when we feel like it in the late summer and again cut very short and rake the cuttings off. The summer cut is the hardest part because we cant use a mower on it.

Guerrilla is apt JK, not supposed to do it, land not hers to spread wild flower seeds on but it is an improvement. However her local council are doing similar on verges, traffic circles and parkland elsewhere. 

There are companies who sell quantities of wildflower/meadow seed mixes for larger areas. Maybe a word with your ‘powers that be’ could be beneficial, particularly if they are on board or coordinating Green Tourism initiatives. They may help with funding, peanuts really as money will be saved on mowing time and fuel etc.

Having said this I’m sure you’ll be on to it already.

I assume that JK's site doesn't get many children visiting? I can just see that area being a good kick about area Just joshing! It would seem from quite a few reviews this year that the message has not got through to some members? Perhaps the Club could promote this more via the email system, it would make a welcome change to being asked to get an insurance quote or being told that my membership has paid for itself? I noticed in the link a little sign that was placed in one of the areas left to its own devices, perhaps they need to be slightly bigger? I do like the idea of wild flowers being seeded into these areas. I knew a chap, unfortunately no longer with us, who on his travels used to spread poppy seeds along the byways. A man ahead of his time.

David

The Club is a long way behind a lot of campsites in terms of adopting a more green, sustained approach, but a positive move that’s it’s now being taken onboard. We were staying on David Bellamy Award Sites some 30 years ago. There are some wonderful CLs with owners who could teach the Club a thing or two about being more sustainable, eco friendly.

The Club’s biggest challenge this way will most likely be some Members, it requires a mindset change and it won’t appeal to everyone. Personally all for anything that helps. Camping to us has always been about doing without  a few comforts and getting closer to nature. At some point this was overtaken by lots of high tech, high energy use, and has given us the sites now most prevalent. A nod back to more simple methods, reducing energy costs, letting nature work more as it should ought to be part of provision👍