Ten years ago, the former Prince of Wales launched Coronation Meadows in 2013 to honour the 60th year of the late Queen’s accession to the throne.
In the face of the catastrophic loss of 97% of our wildflower meadows since the 1930s, the plan was to create new and restored meadows using donor seed from remaining fragments of ancient and traditional meadows.
The Wildlife Trusts and Plantlife – charities for whom the former Prince of Wales was patron – worked together to identify 60 species-rich meadows which are known as Coronation Meadows, one for every year of the Queen’s reign at that time. These special places became donors to provide precious seed to increase the amount of valuable and beautiful wildflower habitat elsewhere.
Dunsdon National Nature Reserve, near Holsworthy, was chosen as Devon’s Coronation Meadow. The 63 hectare site is owned and managed by the conservation charity Devon Wildlife Trust. Its network of Culm grassland fields support a rich mix of wildflowers including lesser butterfly orchids, ragged robin and bird’s foot trefoil. These in turn are home to a huge range of insects from bumblebees to the rare marsh fritillary butterfly.
The Wildlife Trusts and Plantlife charities have now conducted a national audit of the success of the project which reveals that a fantastic 101 new wildflower meadows have been created or restored since the Coronation Meadows project began a decade ago.
The charities are delighted that the Coronation Meadows project has increased the number of wildflower meadows and benefitted a vast array of wildlife, from bees and butterflies to bats and birds. The area is still expanding as the charities continue to harvest and spread the wildflower seed in localities close to the original sites so that the distinctive character of each area’s flora is preserved.
Biffa Award, through the Landfill Communities Fund, contributed £1million to fund the equipment and training needed for meadow restorations. In the first three years of the project alone, more than 700 volunteers gave their time to get the project off the ground. Seed was harvested from Coronation Meadows donor sites either as green hay, brush harvested seed or by hand, and this was used to seed second sites in the same area.
Steve Hussey of Devon Wildlife Trust, says:
“We’re very proud of Dunsdon National Nature Reserve’s status as Devon’s Coronation Meadow. It makes for a beautiful place to visit at this time of year.
More than 90% of Devon’s Culm grassland meadows have disappeared over the past 75 years, but at Dunsdon wildlife still flourishes in its full colourful range of wildflowers and butterflies.
The award of Coronation Meadow status has helped us spread Dunsdon’s good influence. Each year we’ve harvested some of the seeds from its meadows and spread them on other grassland sites nearby, enriching their plant diversity and giving local wildlife an important boost.”
Craig Bennett, chief executive of The Wildlife Trusts, says:
“The expansion of our beautiful wildflower meadows is a wonderful legacy for communities everywhere to enjoy. The magnificent sight of wild orchids shimmering in a field of delicate wild grasses in the afternoon sun to the hum of bees is something that everyone deserves to experience and enjoy.
“As the nature and climate crises deepen, we must be bold if we want to reverse declines and help revive our meadow heritage. Ancient meadows have evolved alongside traditional farming methods over hundreds of years. Many of these have been selected as Local Wildlife Sites because of the rare and threatened plants that are found there but they have limited protection in planning policy. The next review of the National Planning Policy Framework later this year must see their protection strengthened. We also need to see greater support for wildflower meadows in the new farm environment schemes – it is critical that farmers are rewarded for restoring locally distinctive natural habitats where wild plants can thrive.”
To find out more about Dunsdon – Devon’s Coronation Meadow – go to the nature reserve pages of Devon Wildlife Trust’s website www.devonwildlifetrust.org
Marsh fritillary butterfly, one of the rare species that Devon’s Coronation Meadow supports. Photo credit Chris Root
Dunsdon National Nature Reserve, Devon’s Coronation Meadow. Photo credit Sam Rose
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For more information, see http://coronationmeadows.org.uk The original Coronation Meadows project brought together Plantlife, The Wildlife Trusts and the Rare Breeds Survival Trust, to celebrate surviving meadows, create new ones and encourage people to discover and enjoy their local special places for wildflowers.
For more information on The Wildlife Trusts, Plantlife, Biffa Award
.png "John Miles who is fondly referred to as Rex from Heanton Nursing Home, enjoyed a game of Badminton")
.jpg "Marsh fritillary butterfly – one of the rare species that Devon’s Coronation Meadow supports. Photo copyright Chris Root (All Rights Reserved)")
.jpg "Dunsdon National Nature Reserve – Devon’s Coronation Meadow - Photo copyright Sam Rose (All Rights Reserved)")