Welcome

The Ashton Keynes Millennium Green was created, as its name suggests, to mark the advent of the 21st Century by establishing a green space in the village of Ashton Keynes in Wiltshire, for the mutual benefit of both the community and wildlife.

History
The village is fortunate to have 3 hectares of land, situated along two sides of the Bradstone Sports field, as a community breathing space.  It was purchased with the help of the then Countryside Agency in 1999. It is managed in such a way as to encourage a variety of flora and fauna in meadow and light woodland environments. In some areas, the grass is cut monthly in the summer and in others left for hay-cutting later in the season. The copses were planted in the early 1980s and contain a wide variety of trees and shrubs.  

Development
Since the establishment of the Millennium Green, an extensive programme of hedge and tree planting has been undertaken.  The meadows have been planted with a number of specimen trees and a small pond created to encourage bio-diversity and further enhance the area. The so-called ‘Cuckoo Pen’ used to be used by farmers to collect and pen their stock and is now sown with a wildflower mix containing over 45 species to encourage insect life.

The Ecology Now
Over 90 different species each of birds, butterflies and moths have been sighted in the Green. The rare Barberry Carpet moth has been introduced on specially planted habitat trees.  Read on to learn more about our precious space and what you could see during your visits there.                                                         Enjoy!

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