Can you volunteer for Wildflower Lewes?

Wildflower Lewes has made fantastic progress establishing wildflower sites across the town to support essential insect and wildlife. But it can always do with more volunteers to support its vital work – especially in spring and summer. Lesley Healey explains how you can help.

Wildflower Lewes has started surveying the 23 managed-for-wildflower sites across Lewes. These include four additional roadside verges this year. We survey each site three or four times across the season to see which flowers are there, which are missing, and how these grassy areas can be improved for wildflowers and wider nature.

Plants are the basis of all life. There is a dramatic decline in invertebrates that are dependent on flowers, especially wildflowers, to live and reproduce. Animals like swifts, hedgehogs and bats that live on invertebrates are also declining.

You can help!

Wildflower Lewes always welcomes new volunteers – here’s how you can help:

• Find out how wildflowers are doing by joining us on surveys (no need to know anything – you’ll pick it up quickly!)
• Grow wildflowers, using our new nursery, and to plant out in autumn.
• Manage vigorous grass on some sites.

If you are interested in joining Wildflower Lewes, email lesleyhealey267@gmail.com . You can also check out our Facebook page here.

And if you have your own garden…

Please don’t mow your lawn too often or too short – and not at all from May to mid-September if you can manage that!