On Sunday 13th July, for our Meadows and Mosaic Habitat event, we visited Diana and Keith Palmer to learn from their experiences of creating spaces for nature on their 7-acre site.

We were all incredibly inspired by the foresight, dedication and hard work which has gone into creating their beautiful wildflower meadow and by how they have enhanced its value for wildlife by adding ponds, copses, hedges, and sensitively managing a wooded corner, aptly named The Wilderness, where ancient oaks provided us with a much needed shade.

Meadows, trees and ponds aren’t just beautiful but isolated features in the landscape -they compliment each other to create a connected, varied landscape. When scattered thoughtfully across the land, they act as stepping stones, providing food, shelter, and breeding space. This variety and connectivity is vital for birds, bats, amphibians and insects, especially in fragmented or developed landscapes.

One of the key takeaways from the day was the importance of edges – the transitional zones between habitats. These boundary areas offer a mix of resources and often support the greatest diversity of species. In a mosaic landscape like this one, the edges are where much of the ecological richness happens.

Thank you to Diana and Keith for their warm welcome, the refreshments, and for sharing their experiences so openly. It was a valuable and enjoyable visit.

Here are some links and notes on the topics we discussed:

• A Plantlife / Herefordshire Meadows Meadow Restoration Plan can be found on our website
• Some information on virtual fencing What is Nofence? – used for conservation grazing by Wildlife Trusts, Epping Forest Heritage Trust and many others.
• Introduction to agroforestry from Agroforestry – Woodland Trust and  Agroforestry | Soil Association
• For some positive news, tune into Conservation Optimism – with good news stories from around the UK and the world published weekly, to empower and support conservationist everywhere.
• When planning to create mosaic systems a helpful pneumonic to guide your thoughts is PALM (Purpose, Advice, Layout & Monitoring)
• For specialist advice on woodmeadow/ woodpasture systems contact Dan Carne, Director of Woodmeadow Makers dan@woodmeadowmakers.co.uk who was the keynote speaker at our Forum this February and recently carried out extensive research on these farm systems as part of a Churchill Fellowship.  

If you need further help and guidance for your grassland please get in touch with us or request an advisory visit. If you enjoyed the visit and would like to donate to Herefordshire Meadows to support our programme of events and work please click here.