Sandy, Bedfordshire: The meadow has been left unmanaged for years. Now, marsh and meadow species are competing for dominanceA police officer was spotted shortly after daybreak, climbing the fence out of the riverside meadow, throwing her leg over as...

Sandy, Bedfordshire: The meadow has been left unmanaged for years. Now, marsh and meadow species are competing for dominance

A police officer was spotted shortly after daybreak, climbing the fence out of the riverside meadow, throwing her leg over as if she were dismounting from a horse. What on earth were you doing in there? I thought, but dared not ask. She answered my raised eyebrows: “Chased after a suspect last night and dropped my purse. I can’t find it anywhere.” I had somewhere I needed to go and resolved to look myself later. Eleven years on, later is a long time coming.

Back then, I was a “lookerer” (volunteer) at White’s meadow, an assistant watcher over a flock of Southdown sheep. The meadow bloomed that spring with celandine and lady’s smock, and the owner talked of managing for biodiversity. But persistent incursions by people and their free-roaming dogs drained his enthusiasm, and when two sheep were savaged he took his flock elsewhere.

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