6 July 2019, National Meadows Day
While for many the war on plastic is part of something we need to get on top of with regard to saving our planet, so is something else but sadly less visible – the decline in pollinators. Often the only way many can show you how this is happening is to produce data. However, data are hardly likely to grab people’s attention or many headlines, but we have to keep trying for our own sake and that of our future.
On 6 July it is National Meadows Day. As well as meadows we need to increase the number of areas that are left unmown particularly in our parks and open spaces. This is something FoHP have been campaigning for over the years and now we have an agreement to mow selectively in the middle field – it will not affect the sports or other activities there but will help increase wildlife. Even certain types of grass alone have value in providing habitat for certain species of butterfly. In the early spring this field if left to grow in certain areas will provide much needed wildlflowers, such as the cuckooflower, so orange tip butterfly females can then lay their eggs.
On 6 July it is National Meadows Day. As well as meadows we need to increase the number of areas that are left unmown particularly in our parks and open spaces. This is something FoHP have been campaigning for over the years and now we have an agreement to mow selectively in the middle field – it will not affect the sports or other activities there but will help increase wildlife. Even certain types of grass alone have value in providing habitat for certain species of butterfly. In the early spring this field if left to grow in certain areas will provide much needed wildlflowers, such as the cuckooflower, so orange tip butterfly females can then lay their eggs.
Meadows and species-rich grasslands can support a huge range of wildlife including wildflowers, fungi, bees, flies, beetles, spiders, moths, butterflies, reptiles, amphibians, small mammals, bats and birds. In the UK, more priority species (for conservation attention) are associated with grasslands than with any other habitat type. Only 1% of the UK’s land area now supports species-rich grassland and only 2% of the UK’s grasslands are species-rich. Species-rich grasslands also provide other environmental benefits including carbon storage, water retention to prevent flooding and habitat for crop pollinators, they are also archaeologically important. …
From Magnificent Meadows (Importance of Meadows
