After some months of work, it feels as though the Management Plan for Sidmouth Cemetery still isn’t working – although, looking at how things are handled in other cemeteries, managing the Cemetery’s grass shouldn’t be an impossible task. Yes, it’s a matter of balance but it does seem, then, that there are practical ways provided by examples of good practice from elsewhere.
Certainly some aspects of the Management Plan are working – for example, replacing invasives with insect-friendly plants and starting to uncover family graves in the Cemetery. But the surveys and photographs seems to show that high grass does not equate to high biodiversity. Flowers in the right place seems to be the ‘plan’ which all parties and stakeholders are keen to promote.
Here is a photographic record of those last months showing the lack of flowers, whether with short or long grass, with photos and commentary from Cherishing Sidmouth’s Cemeteries working party member Tess Bisson:..
18th April
“The strimming, (and lack of raking in winter) …”
…
25th July
“…and it’s effects: (tidy but devoid of flowers and longer grass and therefore insects).”
…
25th July
“This area of the church yard was not left so long and not raked as the lower area was, and at least has a few more flowering plants.”
…
25th July
Paths needing some urgent weeding: (but at least there are flowers here!)
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21st August 2020
And to finish, here’s a photograph taken four years ago by Cherishing Sidmouth’s Cemeteries working party member Jenny Ware, showing that unmanaged areas of long grass are not exactly flower-friendly:
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