Britain has lost around 99 per cent of its colourful wild grasslands over the last 100 years. The National Trust is therefore attempting to help stop the loss of wild plants such as eyebrights, cowslips and Bugloss‘ viper by creating the largest wildflower grassland, the size of 120 football pitches, in Devon. This project will also help species of rare bees and birds which depend on these wildflowers. Hopefully the revival of the species rich grassland will enable wildlife including voles, kestrels and bats to thrive once again.
The National Trust has already planted 1.3 tonnes of wildflower seed across the large expance of land. The team selected the land for this project by assessing its soil chemistry and suitability to grow different species.
The sowing of the carefully sourced seeds has begun. The project aims to use donor sites which will save the National Trust more than £3 million. Every hectare harvested from a donor site will provide the seed to sow two more hectares, which creates a pyramid effect and will enable the seed planting to stay local.
The National Trust aims to create 25,000 hectares of priority habitat by 2025 through the planting of this wildflower grassland.
Bildquelle:
- northdevongrasslandbeingpreparedv1.jpg: National Trust
