Herefordshire Meadows June Newsletter

After an unseasonably wet May, we write this hoping that there are warmer and drier times ahead, as our summer programme begins in earnest and in-person field training sessions finally become possible once again. Traditional meadow habitats don’t just encourage plant biodiversity, they are also vital for a wide range of animals, particularly insects and pollinators. With this in mind,… Read more →

Meadow Plant ID training session

On 26th May County Plant Recorder Stuart Hedley led an excellent zoom training session on meadow plant identification aimed at beginners and improvers. Stuart began by outlining to members how to properly carry out a rapid monitoring assessment survey. Stuart then went on to teach some essential ID tips covering all of the most distinctive species of Herefordshire’s lowland meadows… Read more →

Rootwave Pro demonstration

On May 12th Stephen Jelley, Global Head of Sales for RootWave, demonstrated the potential of using electrical treatment as a means of controlling perennial weeds at one of our Meadow Maker sites. RootWave’s Electricide technology produces a 5000V charge which boils weeds from the root upwards. The technology is relatively new but advancing all the time and it offers an… Read more →

Catch up: A Smallholders Experience of Machinery for Flower Rich Meadows

On 5th May Tim Daniels gave an excellent presentation describing the methods and machinery he uses to manage his 5.5 acres of flower rich meadows near Longtown on the edge of the Black Mountains. Tim has also worked closely with Peter Tierney and together they have provided green hay for meadow restoration projects across Herefordshire.  Some of the meadows that… Read more →

Herefordshire Meadows May Newsletter

More and more things have started bursting into life over the past month, the early spring flowers are appearing and there is a buzz in the air. Things have been busy behind the scenes too at Herefordshire Meadows. Our team has grown again as we have been joined by Maya Broadbank, a Plantlife Meadow Maker trainee. Maya has already been… Read more →

Flower rich meadows: where to begin?

If you are curious about creating a wildflower meadow but uncertain how – or perhaps even why – to begin, there are some brilliant resources available online to guide you through the very basics. Vicky Bowskill, farmland ecology researcher and writer of the blog “Tales from the Quadrat”, has created a short video to describe why meadows are such vital… Read more →

Herefordshire Meadows April Newsletter

In March we saw the first gradual easing of restrictions and the emergence of lots of little yellow rattle seedlings. Both heralded hope for better times to come. Our aspiration is to gradually start holding in person events and training as restrictions ease further. However, the ability to join online webinars has demonstrated how digital technology can make a wealth… Read more →

Catch up – Better together: how facilitation groups are transforming nature recovery

On 8th April the White Peak Farmers group hosted the first talk of their new Networks for Nature: Facilitating Collaborative Farming webinar series. The discussion looked at how the collaborative approach adopted by Farmer Facilitation Groups around the country is leading to impressive results on the ground. The talk began with Natural England’s Brian McDonald, Manager of the Countryside Stewardship… Read more →

Plantlife launches new surveying app for 2021 Great British Wildflower Hunt

The 2021 Great British Wildflower Hunt has just begun and this year Plantlife have developed a new, free surveying app ‘Survey123’ so that participants can use their smart phones to collect and submit their wildflower data. Over the sping and summer Plantlife will run four different Hunts with over 70 different iconic British Wildflowers to look out for. This is… Read more →