On Monday 24th June, the weather finally delivered for our first evening meadow walk of the year. The event was kindly hosted by Hilary Hillier at Bythan, Avenbury, who has been restoring grassland for 20 years using a variety of methods including green hay, local provenance seed and plug planting with great success. One of the fields visited during the… Read more →
Rory Johnson
Farm Walk with Herefordshire IAgSA
On June 13th, Meadows Adviser Rory Johnson led a farm walk with the Herefordshire branch of the IAgSA at Upper Pengethley Farm near Peterstow. The walk included a visit to some hay meadows which were enhanced in 2023 as part of Herefordshire Meadow’s Botanica project using seed from Joan’s Hill Meadow, the county coronation meadow. After going through the restoration… Read more →
2024 Plant ID Training Day at Croft Castle
On Monday 10th June meadow owners from across Herefordshire attended a Plant Identification training day at Croft Castle. The day was led by Vice County Botanical Recorder and Herefordshire Meadows Trustee Stuart Hedley, who introduced the group to the Rapid Plant Monitoring Method, a simple technique for monitoring changes in grassland over time. The session was aimed at equipping meadow… Read more →
Talk to Cradley WI
On Thursday 6th June Meadows Adviser, Rory Johnson gave a talk to a packed house in the old village hall for the annual Cradley WI open meeting. After giving an overview of who Herefordshire Meadows are and some of the things the charity gets up to, Rory then went on to explore how meadows have been an integral part of… Read more →
Wyescapes; Food, Nature, Water
The Wyescapes project launched on 8th May with its inaugural meeting held on the banks of the Wye in Hereford. The project brings together 40 land holdings covering more than 4000 hectares of land along the river corridor, spanning the county of Herefordshire from north to south. The farmers and land managers are working to identify actions and changes they… Read more →
Meadow Making in the Malvern Hills
We are very excited to announce that we will be working with the Malvern Hills National Landscape this summer and autumn to support thirteen different grassland managers across the National Landscape with grassland surveying, soil sampling and grassland restoration works. In total we plan to carry out botanical surveys at 11 sites and will create just under 15ha of new,… Read more →
Winter Management workshop at Barns Farm
On 27th February Meadows Adviser, Rory Johnson, headed up into Shropshire to deliver a workshop on winter management practices for recently restored swards to a group of farmers and farm advisers at Barns Farm. The event was delivered in collaboration with Buglife who carried out extensive grassland restoration works at this recently acquired National Trust property last autumn as part… Read more →
We are looking for an Assistant Meadows Adviser to join the team – closing date 22 March 2024
Assistant Meadows Adviser – Herefordshire Meadows We’re looking for someone to join our small team of dedicated advisers: Advising landowners on meadow restoration, conservation and management. Raising awareness of the benefits of flower rich swards Expanding the profile of Herefordshire Meadows through website, social media and newsletters Supporting landowner knowledge exchange and improving skills through training and events. Flexible home… Read more →
Herefordshire Meadows – Bringing Nature Back
Ever wondered what meadow restoration is all about? Along with the The Wye and Usk Foundation we have put together a little video piece showcasing the work we get up to and hearing from some of the Meadow Makers we have worked with in the past. Check it out We are very grateful to Air Wick UK and WWF UK… Read more →
New Funding Opportunity for Grassland Restoration Works
Herefordshire Council are working with Balfour Beatty Living Places, the Wye and Usk Foundation and Severn Rivers Trust, to deliver the Herefordshire Natural Flood Management (NFM) Project. We are very excited that species rich grassland creation has been included as one of the fundable NFM options in recognition of the positive impact deep-rooted broad-leaved herbs have on improving infiltration rates… Read more →