Preserving Britain's meadows

The raw, unaffected beauty of wildflowers in a meadow has inspired artists, poets and writers for centuries. Ragged robin (Silene flos-cuculi), cowslip (Primula veris), cuckoo flower (Cardamine pratensis), ox-eye daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare) – their names are enough to stir the imagination.

Thought of by many as quintessentially British, the sad truth is that these habitats are increasingly threatened by urbanisation, intensive agricultural practices, invasive species and climate change. The sight of a meadow in full bloom is becoming rarer as wildflower populations fight for survival at the edges of motorways, footpaths and fields. Many of these wild flowers are related to crop species and losing them means that we lose the genetic diversity and useful traits which could build resilience in our crops and boost food security.

Their decline affects the entire ecosystem as the populations of bees and beetles they support dwindle, having a knock-on effect on birds and higher mammals. Since 60% to 80% of the world’s flowering plant species are animal-pollinated, losing wildlife can have disastrous and unpredictable affects on flowering plants, including crop plant species (of which 60% depend on animals for their pollination).