Giving nature space to thrive in Chelmsford all year round

As summer turns to autumn, Chelmsford’s residents will notice changes to local green spaces as the growing season ends. With wildflowers finishing their bloom and setting seed, the city council's parks team will begin cutting and clearing areas to prepare the ground for new plants to help restart the cycle for next year.

Opportunities to support Chelmsford’s wildlife

During the warmer months, grassland in Chelmsford’s public spaces is deliberately cut less frequently. Closely cropped grass reduces biodiversity, and as the city council has responsibility for so much green space (over 1,700 acres of grassland, in fact!), it can seize the opportunity to restore nature on a large scale.

The city council's policy for managing species rich grassland by reducing the frequency of mowing allows wildflowers and grasses to thrive, supporting a diverse range of insects, birds, and other wildlife. This year Chelmsford has seen an abundance of wildflowers, including bird’s-foot trefoil, cat’s ear, kidney vetch, buttercups, and even orchids. Pollinators like Essex Skipper butterflies have also been spotted enjoying these wildlife-friendly areas. It can take several growing seasons for native species to re-establish.

Parks and green spaces officers assess each area to determine the appropriate care it requires, considering factors like location, highway sightlines, safety, visibility, and practicality. They make sure there are still plenty of open green spaces for people to enjoy recreationally, and verges where lots of people walk are cut more often than rarely used areas.

Cutting and clearing

The method the council follows for the end of the growing season involves cutting and clearing the tall grasses and wildflowers. At the point in the season when the wildflowers start to drop seeds – typically mid to late August – the parks team will visit each site and assess whether it’s time for the cut and clear process to begin. Understandably, with the vast amount of land they are responsible for, it can take from six to eight weeks for the teams to cut and clear all areas. It’s also dependent on weather conditions being dry.

The size of the land determines the equipment and method used. Larger areas like Springfield Green or Pollards Meadow require larger tractors with bigger turning circles, which aren't practical everywhere. Smaller spaces are cleared with a ride-on collector mower, and in areas too small for machinery, the grass is cut and then left.

The purpose of cutting and clearing is to remove nutrients from the soil, creating optimal conditions for wildflowers to thrive in future years. While removing nutrients may seem counterintuitive, poorer soils actually encourage wildflower germination, gradually transforming the area into species-rich grassland habitat.

Without this process, the cut vegetation would turn into mulch, preventing seeds from germinating the following year. Instead, the collected cuttings are processed as green waste and composted. The compost produced is then used by the parks team throughout Chelmsford – from organic fertilizer on sports pitches to improving shrub beds and growing plants in the nursery. The council produces enough compost to be entirely self-sufficient, eliminating the need to purchase additional compost.

The benefits of the council’s commitment to nature

The council’s commitment to its Space to thrive initiative is rooted in the obligation to address the climate and ecological emergency it declared in 2019. With 80% of British species currently threatened or in decline, creating and maintaining habitats in urban areas is more critical than ever. Parks and green spaces, often home to flowers like tufted vetch and birdsfoot trefoil, have become vital refuges for species once common across the countryside.

Allowing grasses and wildflowers to grow not only provides nectar sources but also supports the entire lifecycle of insects, from caterpillar food plants to winter hibernation spots for larvae. This holistic approach to habitat management is essential for reversing the declines in wildlife populations, including butterflies and other pollinators.

Cllr Rose Moore, Cabinet Member for a Greener Chelmsford shares more about why Space to thrive is important for all of Chelmsford:

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"The aim of Space to thrive is to create havens in our local neighbourhoods for people, flora and fauna. Imagine a silken spider's web with Chelmsford city centre at its heart and the threads as green corridors spanning the whole district, and you'll have an idea of the level of connectivity we need to help restore the thousands of species in decline due to habitat fragmentation.

"The city council's parks teams work hard to ensure there's a balance between close-mown areas and taller swathes of flowering grassland. Mown margins and informal pathways then frame, add definition to, and lead us through them.

"A shining example of the policy in action is John Shennan Field in Moulsham Lodge. On what was once a volatile landfill site, through sympathetic landscape planning and planting, nurtured through volunteering sessions, it's now everything a green space should be. It shows how we can all give nature space to thrive in our communities, even within the urban environment."

Cllr Rose Moore, Cabinet Member for a Greener Chelmsford

Evidence from Copperfield Road that the policy is working

In the spring of 2024, pupils from Newlands Spring Primary School teamed up with the city council’s parks team to plant over 20 species of wildflowers at Copperfield Road play area. Students from the school’s Eco Council got involved in planting sessions, as well as children from other year groups. Over the year, they have been back to survey the land with magnifying glasses and measuring tapes, to see what has grown and make lists of the wildflowers and grasses they can spot.

A final look at Copperfield Road play area before the grass gets cut for autumn has shown some summer flowers are still blooming strong – but new autumn blossoms are coming through. Autumn hawkbit was spotted in rows, alongside lesser knapweed and bristly oxtongue. Most grasses are truly brown and crispy now, with a visual mix of timothy and ribwort plantain.

The distinct sound of crickets could be heard, and plenty of bees, spiders and other insects were spotted.

This area has been a great case study for the younger generations to get involved in to help them see the bigger picture of nature around them. Many students will pass by the play area as they walk to school and over the past year have been able to see the benefits of their hard work and watch how it changes through the seasons. Year on year, this land will be carefully maintained and given space to keep on thriving, with the expectation that even more species of wildflower will bloom each year.

If you’d like to find out more about how Chelmsford manages grasslands around the district, you can find a comprehensive list of Frequently Asked Questions on the council’s websites to help explain more about the policy.