Following the disappointing news about the removal of the GRH6 action from SFI 2026, we are actively seeking alternative sources of funding to offer capital support to meet the widespread demand to create more species rich grasslands across Herefordshire and realise the many benefits this brings for soil health, biodiversity, climate resilience, reduced input costs and more. We intend to… Read more →
Over the past month we have continued our work to challenge DEFRA’s decision to remove the GRH6 action from the SFI 2026 offer and seek to determine how species rich grasslands can continue to be properly supported. We are working at pace with over 40 organisations, with coordination from Plantlife, to deliver a multi-partner statement to DEFRA calling for them to… Read more →
On Thursday 12th March, we delivered two talks to two fantastic community nature initiatives at opposite ends of the county. Cradley Wild is a small, dynamic group working collaboratively within the parish to make their village a pollinator friendly haven. During their ‘Bee Village’ launch event, Anna gave an illustrated talk on the importance of relaxing our grip in the garden… Read more →
On Monday 23rd March, we explored the fascinating world of soil health and biology during a training event with Herefordshire Wildlife Trust volunteers at Bartonsham Meadows – a large scale, nature restoration project in the city centre. We started with a whirlwind introduction to soil parameters- a huge topic to be covered in just a short time! Then, we got hands-on outside,… Read more →
Last month Plantlife published a new briefing paper which it is sharing with the DEFRA Director, Mike Rowe outlining the changes they and other grassland charities would like to see made to the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) to ensure the true value of species rich grasslands are unlocked and that permanent grasslands aren’t inadvertently lost to temporary herbal leys, among… Read more →
For our second meadow walk of the summer we were very kindly hosted by Adhisthana, a Buddhist centre in Coddington. Adhisthana was one of our 2021 Meadow Maker sites and we supported them to create a new meadow on site using seed from an existing meadow which they had created in 2012. We began the walk in the newly established… Read more →
On Wednesday 11th June we hosted the first of our 2025 evening meadow walks at Parsonage Farm courtesy of Lyn and Richard Langford in conjunction with the Herefordshire Pond Group. The walk took place in a field that was restored from species rich grassland to wildflower meadow in 2020 as part of our Pollinator Meadows project supported by Plantlife and… Read more →
We had a full house at Withington Village Hall for our 2025 Forum entitled Meadows, trees and more. The morning began with a welcome from newly appointed Chair of Trustees, Julian Partridge who gave a summary of some of Herefordshire Meadow’s planned activities for 2025. This includes; revisiting 30 of our historic restoration sites to assess progress and offer follow… Read more →
On Tuesday 28th January Herefordshire Meadows featured on BBC One’s Escape to the Country. Watch again on BBCiPlayer as Meadows Adviser Rory Johnson visits a 2021 restoration site in Coddington with presenter and Herefordshire resident, Jules Hudson, to assess progress and discuss all the benefits of species rich grasslands. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0027f3m Read more →
On Tuesday 21st January we held our Winter Webinar which gave an update on the government’s Environmental Land Management scheme (ELMs). Rory Johnson kicked things off with a deep dive into the new, endorsed, Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) action GRH6 – Manage priority habitat species-rich grassland. After discussing the actions aims, Rory then went on to explain how the action requirements differ… Read more →
