If you have ever considered supporting Herefordshire Meadows with a donation, this spring from the 22^nd to 29^th April is the time to do it! 

For that week only, every pound that you donate will be matched by the Big Give’s annual Green Match Fund – doubling the impact that your generous donation makes for meadows.

We will be raising funds for the Herefordshire Meadows Community, so that we can provide a 2 year program of free events, discussion groups and training sessions, all aimed at improving knowledge and understanding of species-rich grassland in Herefordshire.

The funds will help us to provide a forum for landowners, farmers, and specialists and enthusiasts, to exchange knowledge, experience, and up-to-date research and guidance. 
We also want to develop a network of volunteer citizen scientists to help map, survey, and monitor species-rich grassland in Herefordshire, and work with partners to develop best-practice guidelines for seed harvesting as demand for this resource increases.

We aim to raise £8,000 during the campaign week, which will be matched by Big Give – giving us a total of £16,000 to spend on the Herefordshire Meadows Community.


Mark the date in your diary!

Go to the Big Give’s Herefordshire Meadows Community page during the Green Match fund campaign week from noon on 22nd-29th April, and get your donation doubled.

Yellow rattle emergence 2025

Around mid-March Yellow rattle seedlings began to appear on meadows across Herefordshire, signalling that spring is here and that its time to start preparing to shut up those meadows!

Yellow rattle has arrived around 4 weeks later than in 2024, when the true leaves emerged and were identifiable by mid-February. 

This demonstrates the importance of spending some time in the field monitoring for its appearance every year (or keeping an eye on the HM social media platforms!), rather than relying on a fixed date for removing grazing.  Though this can be convenient, it means that Yellow rattle might be trampled or grazed off if they emerge early, or that critical last minute grazing time is lost if they emerge later than expected.

When the true leaves appear the seedlings will be around 10-30mm, so will soon be within the reach of grazing sheep, and are also vulnerable to trampling. 

In a restoration meadow where Yellow rattle is playing a crucial role in grass-suppression, particularly in the first few years, it is very important that the grazing is removed before there are losses, as this annual plant can rapidly dwindle in a meadow if it is not able to flower and set seed every year.

Happy hunting, and be prepared to get down on your hands and knees and rootle through the grass!

We had a full house at Withington Village Hall
on Saturday 22nd February for our 2025 Annual 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 Meadows’ planned activities for 2025 with Director and Meadows Adviser, Rory Johnson then running through some of the highlights of 2024. 

Meadows Adviser, Carys Solman gave an overview of the 2024 seed harvesting season. The changeable weather again made things challenging and condensed the seed harvesting into a very short window at the end of July. In total 6 sites were harvested, a total of 14.2ha and 523kg of wet weight seed was collected. This seed was used on 13 receptor sites, creating 27.4ha of new species rich grassland.

Two of our 2024 restoration site owners then shared their thoughts and experiences of creating a new species rich meadow. A highlight was hearing about how a local running club were brought in to help with the hand broadcasting of the seed at Cadwell Farm. Many hands made light work and all were rewarded with home made hot-dogs afterwards.

After a short coffee break we were treated to a fantastic keynote speech by Dan Carne, Director of Woodmeadow Makers. Dan was recently awarded a Churchill Fellowship to carry out a study tour of the Woodmeadows, of Estonia, Romania, Germany and Sweden. What was striking was how there is often a multiplier effect in terms of grass production which comes from having some trees within meadows, particularly in periods of extreme heat and drought. The trees themselves also provide a wide range of secondary products including fruit, charcoal, animal fodder and additional habitat, making wood meadows both rich in biodiversity and high in productivity.

To conclude the proceedings Caroline Hanks (Director and Meadows Adviser, Herefordshire Meadows), Lucinda Lewis (Herefordshire Meadows Trustee and Farm Adviser at the Wye & Usk Foundation) and Hayley Murray (Natural England Adviser) explored some of the agri-environment options available now, or coming soon, which are targeted at these mosaic habitats, supporting very low density tree and scrub within species rich grasslands.
The full event write up including links to the slides from all the presentations can be found on our website here.