On Tuesday 15th October Herefordshire Meadows Chair of Trustees, James Hawkins and Co-Directors Caroline Hanks and Rory Johnson travelled down to the Houses of Parliament to attend Plantlife’s Grassland Westminster Reception sponsored by Wera Hobhouse MP.

The event, attended by farmers, NGOs, corporate partners MPs and Peers called on the UK Government and DEFRA to unlock the value of grasslands as a national asset and deliver it’s priorities for nature, climate, food, economy, and health by developing a Grassland Action Plan for England.

A ‘grassland gap’ still exists with grasslands being undervalued compared to other habitats in terms of awareness and resource allocation and yet diverse swards provide a whole range of ecosystem services including; natural flood management, carbon sequestration, habitat creation and all whilst also supporting healthy food production.

An Early Day Motion on the value of grasslands has been laid by Mrs Hobhouse, which has already been supported by 29 MPs including North Herefordshire MP Ellie Chowns. Herefordshire Meadows will continue to work with partners across the country to champion species rich grasslands and influence policy changes which support their creation, restoration and conservation.