Why are wildflower grassland areas important?
Flower-rich grasslands are very rare – we’ve seen a 97% loss of these habitats over the last century. Wildflower meadows now cover a mere 1% of our island and need our urgent attention.
Wildflower rich grasslands are a cornerstone habitat, providing an important nectar source for pollinators, hunting grounds for Greater Horseshoe bats and cover for Hares. Wildflower grasslands also create healthy soils, natural flood defences and healthy diverse recreational space.
What are we doing in North Devon?
The National Trust aim to reintroduce species such as Yellow Rattle, Knapweed, Birdsfoot Trefoil, Lady’s Bedstraw and Yarrow to create a Lowland Meadow Priority Habitat. In turn this will provide a food source for Common Blue Butterflies and Red Tail Bumble Bees, Greater Horseshoe Bats and Short Eared Owls.
Alongside the benefits for nature and wildlife, the project will create open, accessible, beautiful, nature-rich places for everyone to enjoy. All the recently sown sites have public rights of way nearby, making it easy for visitors to spend time immersed in nature in the North Devon countryside.
By 2026, we will have placed the equipment, skills, and experience in our Ranger team to harvest and collect seed from local wildlife rich habitats. This long-term sustainable approach will give the grasslands the best chance of becoming abundant in wildflowers and a robust habitat for nature. In addition, we are growing wildflower seed donor sites. These are highly abundant areas of wildflowers, that will provide a sustainable long-term source of wildflower seeds. Within 2-3 years of sowing wildflower donor sites, Rangers can begin to collect seed of some species to introduce wildflowers and create new habitat for wildlife. Every hectare of donor site harvested will provide enough seed to sow two more hectares. Our ambition is to create 1,275 hectares (3,151 acres) of habitat, including grasslands, by 2030.
The way we make space for nature in North Devon is always evolving. The quality of habitat created by large grazing animals such as Exmoor Ponies, Mangalista Pigs and Belted Gallows is second to none. Introducing seed to ground disturbed and influenced by these animals is becoming common practice. However, our donor sites are being carefully managed using more traditional methods, such as seasonal cutting and grazing which will encourage them to produce seed.
