North Court wildflower area is harvested

The wildflower area in front of North Court has been harvested for the first time.

The cuttings were collected and are drying out in College greenhouses. They will then be shaken out and the seeds used, along with seeds collected from the King’s College wildflower meadow, to replenish North Court and additional areas within the College.

The North Court lawn was sown last year using seeds harvested from King’s College’s iconic wildflower lawn on The Backs. Like the King’s College meadow, the North Court meadow also featured harebells, daisies, poppies, cornflowers - creating a mini ecosystem for insects and other invertebrates.

Paul Stearn, Head Gardener, said: “The wildflower meadow has been incredibly popular and much photographed. It’s just one of a number of ways we’re enhancing biodiversity on site, as part of the commitments set out in our new Sustainability Strategy.”

During the harvesting, some biological recording of the meadow was completed with some interesting findings including a toad, which was carefully rescued, as well as a Gatekeeper and Common blue butterfly as well as numerous smaller insects.

The King’s College meadow is much larger than North Court’s and was traditionally harvested last week using two shire horses and a haywain and subsequently generated much media interest, highlighting the collective efforts Colleges are taking in regards to biodiversity.