Meadows Newsletter October 2023 Read more →
MEADOWS FORUM 2023 – a full house and massive enthusiasm for Diverse Swards
On 23rd September 2023 over 70 people took part in 5th Herefordshire Meadows FORUM, the first since 2020 James Hawkins, Herefordshire Meadows chaired our inaugural AGM as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation and reported on activities since the CIO was formed on 2 March 2022. He also updated us on the many achievements of group members since the last FORUM in… Read more →
Pasture and Profit in Protected Landscapes – including Wye Valley and Malvern Hills AONBs
Pasture for Life have recently been awarded funding by the Shropshire Hills, Wye Valley and Malvern Hills AONBs to run a free, innovative mentoring and events programme until 2025 for farmers interested in nature friendly or regenerative farming practices. The offer includes: A comprehensive series of on-farm events & webinars across all three regions covering a wide range of topics.… Read more →
September Newsletter
All of this year’s meadow seed harvest had been dried, cleaned, weighed and distributed by the end of August, and at the start of September we began the exciting next stage of our restoration projects: to prepare the sites and begin spreading seed. We also hosted our first FORUM since 2020 and our first AGM since becoming a registered charity. … Read more →
August Newsletter
Welcome to our August Newsletter. After a dry month and record-breaking heat in June we have been treated to one of the wettest Julys on record, and a very difficult year for making hay. Our seed harvesting plans have also been very disrupted, but with the occasional dry day we have managed to harvest from all our intended donor sites… Read more →
Meadow walk at Far House Farm – the power of natural regeneration to restore a mosaic of meadow, pasture, woodland and orchard
The final meadow walk of the season was at Far House Farm, Maescoed on 11th July with many thanks to our hosts and generous Herefordshire Meadows supporters Joanna and Bruce Jenkyn Jones. We started next to lovely flowery strips of meadow plants beside the drive that were created after nearby building work and were treated to a scything demo there… Read more →
Meadow Walk at Brookmead and Colwall Village Garden
We had fantastic weather and a full house again for our penultimate summer meadow walk at Brookmead and Colwall Village Garden. Lindsay Williams, owner of Brookmead and Trustee of Colwall Orchard Group, kindly led the tour that took us to four fields all restored in 2019 with support from Herefordshire Meadows and funding from Plantlife and the Prince of Wales’… Read more →
July Newsletter
Welcome to our July Newsletter. After record-breaking temperatures this June, we have ended the month with some much-needed rain. With the meadows fast setting seed we are looking forward to a month of seed harvesting this July, with 8 donor sites due to be visited and over 60ha of receptor sites being prepped for restoration this year. Herefordshire Meadows have… Read more →
Herefordshire’s Coronation Meadow 10 years on – National Meadows Day walk at Sollers Hope
To celebrate National Meadows Day 2023 Fiona Fyshe gave us a tour of the beautiful meadows at Sollers Hope on Friday 30th June. In 2015 this 3.6ha site at Hurstans received brush harvested seed from Joans Hill Coronation Meadow, a Plantlife nature reserve. The hay meadow now boast a healthy population of Green Winged Orchids as well as many other… Read more →
Bumblebee ID Training Day at Croft Castle
On 27th June Dr Richard Comont from the Bumblebee Conservation Trust led an afternoon of bumblebee identification and survey training, in the beautiful grounds of Croft Castle. Time was spent netting and potting bumble bees on the fields that were restored with the help of Herefordshire Meadows in 2019, and in the walled garden where conditions were more favourable on… Read more →