Join in with the celebrations on National Meadows Day by visiting your local meadow.
On Saturday 2nd July, people across the country will be recognising the importance of meadows, some of the UK’s most flower-rich habitats.
To encourage people to take part in the celebrations, the Malvern Hills Trust has provided a map of local meadows to encourage people to visit and experience these natural wonders.
Beck Baker, Community and Conservation Officer said “Plantlife UK reports that 97% of meadows have been lost in the UK since the 1930’s and here at the Trust we’re taking working hard to care for and conserve these important and increasingly rare habitats.”.
The Trust owns and manages a number of meadows in the Malvern area that are open for the public to explore and enjoy including Malvern Common, Woodford’s Meadow and Colwall Green.
As well as colourful flowers including yellow rattle, common spotted orchid and knapweed, meadows also support a huge range of native wildlife such as butterflies and bees.
The Trust’s management of these habitats over time has led to an increase in floral diversity of these green spaces. This hard work culminated in the successful designation of Malvern Commons as a Site of Special Scientific Interest in 2018, national recognition of the high quality of the meadow.
“We were delighted to for the meadow at Malvern Common to be recognised as nationally important. Over the years we have been caring for this area we have seen an increase in diversity and the orchid display is incredibly special. We are extremely pleased to see that we’ve been doing the right thing to support our local meadows”
“Our meadows are cut once towards the end of summer to allow the flowers to set seed ready for the next year. The hay is collected and taken by a local farmer to feed their livestock or turned into soil conditioner that’s available to local people and allotments.”
Take a look at our meadows map and plan your visit or go for a local walk and take a closer look at the diversity in the long grasses and wildflower areas. Don't forget to share your images of Malvern’s meadows with us on Facebook and Twitter.
