10^th anniversary celebrates growth of Coronation Meadows 

Ten years ago, the former Prince of Wales launched Coronation Meadows to honour the 60^th 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.

The charities have done an 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.

Tim Hill, Conservation Manager at Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust says:

 “We’re delighted to have a new meadow at Greys in Therfield, near Royston, which was created as part of Coronation Meadows. The landholder, Edward Darling, with the support of the Trust, used seed harvested from the county Coronation Meadow at Therfield Heath - a site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The wildflower meadow which blooms with a wide range of flowers including Greater Knapweed, Scabious and Yarrow, to create a wonderful tapestry of purples, soft blues and white, is 24 x 60 meters and is flourishing through a rotational cutting regime. This practice extends the flowering period and the length of time when pollen is available within the expanse of short grass and provides diversity of structure - as a result, the variety of butterflies, moths, other invertebrates and reptiles increases too.

“It’s hugely gratifying to see that Edward, inspired by his experience with the Coronation Meadow, has subsequently created a second, larger meadow of 10 hectares – the equivalent of 14 football pitches - using a mixture of seeds from Therfield and wild seed producer, Emorsgate Seeds. The meadow is independently described as ‘Nirvana’ when in flower and supporting a wide range of species including, colonies of Chalkhill Blue and Dark Green Fritillary butterflies.”

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.”

Ian Dunn, CEO, Plantlife, says:

“If you can, this Coronation year, make the opportunity to sit within an area of meadow or uncut grass. Look around at the colours and variety of plants. Then close your eyes and sense your surroundings through sound and smell. You’ll be amazed, reconnected with nature and feel just fantastic!

We know healthy habitats such as meadows form the foundations of all successful conservation, as well as being at the roots of a healthy society and in addressing the climate challenges we face. At Plantlife we aspire to create a combined area equal to 20,000 new football fields of meadows before the end of this decade to give everyone the chance of experiencing the beauty and wildlife-rich meadows that were once commonplace. The exquisite Coronation meadows started 10 years ago give us confidence we can do so”.