Our Meadows Are Disappearing – Here’s What You Can Do
It is the intrinsically British countryside summer image – meadows filled with wildflowers and grasses, the buzz of insects and the trill of birds, under a sunny blue sky.
But our magnificent meadowland, which many of us take for granted, has been on the decline for years, and incredibly we have lost a shocking 97% of it since the 1930s, mainly due to farming practices, and an increase in construction.
This loss impacts everything from bees and butterflies, to fungi and grasses, with many species decreasing in number. So with National Meadows Day running this month, what can we do as individuals?
HOW CAN WE SAVE OUR MEADOWS?
While no-Mow May has become widely recognised (basically leave your lawnmower in the shed for the month) there is a growing movement to continue letting at least part of your garden become a wild feature throughout the entire summer.
One of the celebrities leading the call for this is TV star and conservationist Megan McCubbin. Megan, a regular BBC Springwatch presenter, told Belle About Town: “It is easy to overlook the UK’s meadows, but in reality they are incredible microcosms packed with wild flowers, grasses and wildlife rarely seen elsewhere.”
Megan has just been unveiled as a Champion of Wakehurst – Kew Gardens’ wild botanic gardens, in Sussex, and home to 535 acres of meadowlands, woodlands and wetlands. She describes the area, which is open for the public to visit, as “a living laboratory to understand the importance of trees, plants and fungi when it comes to making our planet more resilient.”
Wakehurst is home to the Millennium Seed Bank which houses an incredible collection of over 2.4 billion seeds from around the globe, stored underground to preserve them for the future. Staff also pride themselves on their search for science-based solutions to some of the planet’s most pressing challenges.
Megan continues: “We know that we’re facing a biodiversity and climate emergency. But nature really does have the solutions… when we work together, that huge problem of climate change and biodiversity loss gets a little bit smaller.”
An advocate for rewilding, she is keen to see the public get on board with the idea of embracing meadows at home, and explains: “You’ve just got to start somewhere – sow a few seeds and let things go a bit wild. Let’s hold off mowing for the summer so you can have a little bit of Wakehurst, wherever you are.”
One less garden chore over these summer months? We’ll take that!
MENTAL HEALTH BENEFITS
It is not just about the wildlife either – spending time in nature has been proven to benefit our bodies through exercise, but also our minds. By increasing the amount of biodiversity that we are coming into contact with, our mental health can improve. As Megan says, “There’s not only benefits for the wildlife, but also for us too”.
She has taken on the Champion role alongside Dr Amir Khan, who is equally keen to see everyone develop their own homegrown meadows, as well as getting out and exploring the countryside around us, because of the positive contribution it can make to our mental health.
Amir, a full-time GP, author and presenter on ITVs’ Lorraine and Good Morning Britain, describes himself as a “passionate believer in nature on prescription”. He explains that his interest in nature connectedness is one of the reasons he has taken on the role at Wakehurst, where: “you can lose yourself in the beauty and power of nature – the sounds of the birds, the fragrance of the plants and trees from all over the world.
Amir explains: “Scientists at Wakehurst are using these landscapes to gather data on how nature positively impacts our wellbeing, stress and anxiety levels and there are more projects that everyone can take part in to explore how nature really is a healer.”
Time to put those lawnmowers on eBay, embrace a meadow in your garden, and head to Wakehurst for an extra dose of nature!
- Find out more about Wakehurst at www.kew.org/wakehurst
