Botanical Training at Barrington Hill Meadows NNR – joint event with Abricon

Geckoella celebrated its year of being Employee Owned by taking part in a botanical identification day at Barrington Hill Meadows NNR near Ilminster with Environmental Consultancy friends Abricon. A fascinating day was spent perfecting identification of grassland communities and condition assessments.

The meadows looked at by the team include traditionally managed unimproved neutral grassland. These meadows are characterised by the widespread occurrence of Sweet Vernal Grass (Anthoxanthum odoratum), Crested Dog’s-tail (Cynosurus cristatus), Cowslip (Primula veris) and Green-winged Orchid (Anacamptis morio) and the keen eyed recorded  French Oat-grass (Gaudinia fragilis), a rare grass species, which is a prominent feature at this site. The team also recorded a strong population of Adder’s-tongue (Ophioglossum vulgatum), an indicator of the unimproved nature of these grasslands.

In the photos here you can see the team undertaking quadrat surveys, comparing the unimproved grasslands to some nearby improved habitats using the Biodiversity Net Gain Condition Assessment approach, which involves recording the number of species and their abundance, alongside other biological and environmental characteristics.