Long may the grass grow – in churchyard and on golf course

Henstridge, South Somerset Slow worms like to lie close to the headstones and were vulnerable to predators in the short grass, but now the grass is allowed to grow long, offering shelter and encouraging the growth of wildflowers

I went through the lych-gate at the church of St Nicholas on a damp day with wet leaves thick underfoot. The grass alongside the churchyard wall to the left, where generations of folk taking a short cut from the village have beaten an unofficial footpath, had just had its annual cut. The cut is only annual, rather than more frequent, because this is territory favoured by a protected species, the slow worm.

Slow worms like to lie close to the headstones and were previously highly visible, and vulnerable to predators in the short grass, but now this section of the churchyard is managed by South Somerset district council under the Living Churchyard scheme, so as to become a sanctuary for them. Residents have become used to the fact that, instead of a closely mown sward, they now see grass allowed to grow long, offering shelter and encouraging the growth of wildflowers.