AS a frequent walker "down the bank " as us locals put it, I had been greatly enjoying the wild flowers and the butterflies and birds in the fields and along the bank owned by Thornbury Sailing Club (TSC) and thinking how lucky we were that TSC was so conservation-minded when to my dismay the fields were cut in very early June.

We are surrounded by agricultural land in Oldbury , most of it given over to silage or maize with very little, if any, unimproved grassland and wild flower meadows left.

With over 98 per cent of wild flower meadows lost in the UK, most in the last few decades, the land owned by TSC, managed appropriately, could be a great asset to the causes of conservation and education as the Severn Way allows the public access and the wild flowers could be enjoyed by everyone, young and old alike.

Can I suggest that if the members are interested in these matters they look on the Plantlife website for advice from the Save our Magnificent Meadows project. In a nutshell, the later grassland and meadows can be cut in the summer the better for all forms of wild life.

Christabelle Tymko

Cowhill