Wild About Diss Cemetery
Diss Cemetery is a peaceful place for remembrance or just reflection, but wildlife too enjoys this quiet, unspoilt place. Diss Town Council are currently working with Norfolk Wildlife Trust to manage the site in a way that benefits wildlife.
A few years ago the site was notified as a County Wildlife Site, largely in recognition of the wild flowers growing on the site. These flowers and the delicate grasses they grow amongst tell us that the site is a remnant of an old meadow, probably once used for hay and grazing sheep or cattle. Such meadows are one of the most threatened wildlife habitats in lowland England, with 95% of sites being lost to development or agricultural change since 1945.
In May a profusion of cowslips covered much of the site and if you visit the site over the summer look out for the following: hoary plantain (a delicate, scented relative of the more common ribowrt plantain), common broomrape (a purple-brown flower that is a parasite on grasses), ox eye daisies, meadow vetchling, quaking grass, field scabious, bee orchids and yellow rattle. The flowers themselves provide food for many butterflies and moths, which in turn are food for insect eating birds, such as the shy spotted fly catcher, which can be seen flitting from gravestones in high summer. Look out too for brown hares hiding in the summer grass.
Management of the grassland areas is currently being discussed and in the coming months, the grass of the wildlife areas will be cut and the cuttings removed; this mimics the traditional management of cutting for hay and grazing and will allow the flowers to go on flourishing. Some of the taller growth and scrubby areas will also be cut back to provide lighter areas for wild flowers. In the future, some of the best wildflower areas will be lost to burials and the grass subsequently cut more regularly in recognition of the Cemetery's primary function as a site for burial and remembrance.
However, we hope that by restoring areas of older burials to a condition that is more favourable for these delicate, light-loving species, we will be able to move the flowers into these areas where we hope they will flourish and not be lost.
Next time you visit Diss Cemetery, take a moment to reflect on the natural history, as well as the human history and enjoy the abundance of wildlife around you.
Helen Baczkowska
Conservation Officer
Norfolk Wildlife Trust