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 the Duke of Cornwall’s Benevolent Fund. We began by discussing the restoration process as well as commenting on the successes seen so far. In just 5 years the grassland diversity has increased from just 7 broadleaved plants to 21, a three fold increase. This now includes 4 key indicator plants of lowland meadows. There is lots of information on our website about grassland restoration methodologies.

We then congregated around the pond which had been created in 2009 as a soaraway system for rainwater runoff of nearby agricultural buildings. Will Watson and Lindsay Harrison gave a fantastic overview of ponds and how they are a fantastic complementary habitat to meadows. As with meadows, significant numbers of our ponds have been lost in the past century and wildlife has suffered as a consequence.

Will and Lindsay discussed methodologies for pond creation and signposted everyone to the Freshwater Habitat Trust for further information including about planning rules and requirements. Attendees then had a chance to see up close some of the aquatic life present in the pond including toadlings and two different types of newt.

This event was provided thanks to donations from our supporters to the Herefordshire Meadows Community fundraiser, and match funding from the Big Give Green Match Fund 2025.