\n Judy and Charles Levien began turning their private seven-acre plot in Foulsham into a haven for nature in 1991.\n<\/p>\n
\n This summer, nearly thirty-five years on, it has officially become one of Norfolk\u2019s County Wildlife Sites, under the \u2018habitat created and managed for nature conservation\u2019 criteria.\n<\/p>\n
\n Their vision of a verdant woodland of native trees, flower-rich meadow and fecund ponds, lush with water plants and animal life, has clearly been achieved.\n<\/p>\n
\n Charles cleaning out the pond(Image: Judy Levien)\n<\/p>\n
\n Also evident is their inspirational dedication, passion and love for their small, but important corner of Norfolk.\n<\/p>\n
\n Prior to Judy and Charles\u2019s arrival, the area was used for growing red fescue grass, principally for supplying golf courses with seed.\n<\/p>\n
\n Faden\u2019s 1797 map of Norfolk shows that the site was once part of Thembelthorpe Common.\n<\/p>\n
\n This, like so many other commons, suffered enclosure, and was eventually farmed for arable crops.\n<\/p>\n
\n Judy developed her appreciation of nature during childhood, and particularly the love of wildflowers from her mother.\n<\/p>\n
\n But sadly, Judy and Charles are from a generation that have witnessed first-hand the devastating results of Britain\u2019s post-war agricultural policies.\n<\/p>\n
\n This involved the systematic removal of hedgerows, drainage of ponds, housing estates built on our heathlands, and the plantation of non-native pines in our woodlands.\n<\/p>\n
\n Land that was not deemed \u2018productive\u2019 was viewed as fair game for development.\n<\/p>\n
\n The greatest destruction was to our ancient meadows.\n<\/p>\n
\n Mechanisation meant that hay was no longer needed for horses, and flower-rich hay meadows were ploughed for crops.\n<\/p>\n
\n Across the UK 98% of meadowland disappeared in just a few decades, with Norfolk\u2019s meadows being particularly hard hit.\n<\/p>\n
\n Witnessing this loss was a catalyst for Judy and Charles, and they set about creating their own woodland and meadow.\n<\/p>\n
\n During 1991, over a period of four days, 1,200 tree saplings were planted over a three-acre area, with many of Judy and Charles\u2019s friends and family helping to plant the young trees.\n<\/p>\n
\n Judy meticulously mapped out where each individual sapling should go, indicating the tree species with coloured canes.\n<\/p>\n
\n The wood has now matured nicely, and the path that runs through it sits beneath a luxurious canopy of translucent green.\n<\/p>\n
\n Between the wood and the ponds, an open area was seeded with a mix of wildflowers, maturing over time into a beautiful meadow full of butterflies, bees and numerous other insects.\n<\/p>\n
\n Across the whole site, over 130 plant species have been recorded.\n<\/p>\n
\n Formerly, meadows prospered from regular cutting, and a hay meadow earned its keep by providing fodder for livestock.\n<\/p>\n
\n Judy and Charles\u2019s meadow is cut in late summer by a local farmer.\n<\/p>\n
\n Its luxuriant, organic, and I\u2019m sure, very tasty hay, feeds the farmer\u2019s small herd of highland cattle during the winter.\n<\/p>\n
\n A lonely old black poplar stood grandly in one corner, an increasingly rare sight in the English countryside now.\n<\/p>\n
\n Sadly, it was felled by a gale some years ago.\n<\/p>\n
\n But unsurprisingly, Judy took and propagated cuttings.\n<\/p>\n
\n The tree lives on, with four black poplars now at home in the wood, and three standing majestically in the meadow.\n<\/p>\n
\n An erstwhile vista, now lost to most of us.\n<\/p>\n
\n The log lovingly kept by Judy.c(Image: R.L.Morgan)\n<\/p>\n
\n Old Common Wood has two ponds, the largest of which a small boat can be paddled across.\n<\/p>\n
\n The ponds have been expertly sited, and hold water, without the use of a liner, even in the heat of summer.\n<\/p>\n
\n Each is full of aquatic plants and brimming with life.\n<\/p>\n
\n Leaving nothing to chance, Judy made a scale model of the large pond in clay to show the profiling she wanted.\n<\/p>\n
\n This proved invaluable to the digger driver who teased the edges, leaving exposed subsoil and gentle slopes.\n<\/p>\n
\n This has provided ideal habitat for plants that thrive on low fertility, and the diverse flora is proof of its success.\n<\/p>\n
\n The display of native orchids this year, I\u2019m told, was exceptional.\n<\/p>\n
\n Maintaining this habitat involves hard work, so through September, Charles gets busy with a mechanical scythe, cutting and removing all the summer growth from around the ponds.\n<\/p>\n
\n Judy had the forethought to keep a rather touching and personal log of Old Common Wood, diagrams and photos track its progress, from the very beginning to the wildlife haven it is now.\n<\/p>\n
\n Thumbing through this delightful record, I asked Charles what the greatest surprise of the last thirty-five years had been.\n<\/p>\n
\n I was expecting the answer to be the sighting of a rare butterfly or unusual bird, but\n<\/p>\n
\n “How it raises one\u2019s spirits up” was the response.\n<\/p>\n
\n There is an old saying that I love, and I know it\u2019s well worn, but I think it still resonates all the same.\n<\/p>\n
\n “Society is made great when old men plant trees, the shade of which they will never sit under.”\n<\/p>\n
\n Thirty-five years ago, Judy and Charles had a beautiful vision, and now they can sit beneath the shade of their own trees, or in the middle of their sun-drenched meadow, or by their pond, watching dragonflies flick back and forth.\n<\/p>\n
\n A “win-win” I think it\u2019s called.\n<\/p>\n
\n Leaving behind a better world than the one we found may be a rather highfalutin aim, but Judy and Charles are proof that it is something we all have the power to do, however large or small.\n<\/p>\n
\n Legacy, as we grow older, is something many of us think about, but surely, a meadow, ponds and a woodland that could last a thousand years, is the greatest legacy of all.\n<\/p>\n
\n View toward the meadow(Image: Judy Levien)\n<\/p>\n
\n What is a County Wildlife Site?\n<\/p>\n
\n A County Wildlife Site (CWS) in Norfolk is a non-statutory area of land recognised for its significant wildlife value.\n<\/p>\n
\n Led by Norfolk Wildlife Trust, the CWS system is a partnership with Norfolk County Council, Norfolk Biodiversity Information Service and Local Authorities.\n<\/p>\n
\n These sites are considered important for biodiversity and complement nationally protected areas by providing a network of habitats for wildlife.\n<\/p>\n
\n Norfolk has over 1,300 CWS, ranging from heathland and meadows to woodlands and ponds, and they are vital for maintaining the county’s natural heritage.\n<\/p>\n
\n Norfolk Wildlife Trust visits many County Wildlife Sites each year, providing advice to landowners on how to manage the land for wildlife.\n<\/p>\n
\n Find out more: norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk\/cws.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Judy and Charles Levien began turning their private seven-acre plot in Foulsham into a haven for nature in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":438817,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3847],"tags":[70,16,15,1717],"class_list":{"0":"post-438816","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-science","9":"tag-uk","10":"tag-united-kingdom","11":"tag-wildlife"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115237320589496631","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/438816","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=438816"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/438816\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/438817"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=438816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=438816"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=438816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}