Heritage sites across the North East will be enhanced with wildflower meadows in a long-lasting floral celebration of the Coronation.
English Heritage is working with Plantlife – Europe’s largest charity dedicated to saving wild plants and fungi – on an initiative which will span the next 10 years. Eight English Heritage sites in the region will benefit from a return of flower-rich hay meadows which once made the countryside a much more colourful spectacle than is the case today.
Since the 1930s and the advent of post-war modern farming practices, the UK has lost 97% of its meadows, with a severe knock-on impact on insects and pollinators such as bees, butterflies and moths and other wildlife, including bird species. English Heritage said the project would leave a natural legacy by working to restore the country’s lost flower-rich glasslands, in tribute to Charles’s love of the natural world. The King, who will be crowned on May 6, is known to be a passionate gardener who is committed to organic farming, promoting biodiversity and has long campaigned in the fight against climate change.
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English Heritage sites in the North East that will be involved in the project include Dunstanburgh Castle, Heddon on the Wall, Hylton Castle in Sunderland and Barnard Castle in County Durham.
John Watkins, English Heritage head of gardens and landscape, said: “This is no PR stunt. It is something we are committed to for the next 10 years, and I am very excited about it. We will be creating something which hasn’t been seen for years. There has been a tragic loss of so many meadows.”
Working with wildlife groups, wildlife trusts and volunteers local to each site, English Heritage will source seed from existing meadows in the area to ensure the reintroduction of viable, local species of wildflower to each site.
Kate Mavor, English Heritage’s chief executive, said: “The King’s coronation is a significant moment in history and we wanted to mark it in a meaningful way, in a way that combines nature and heritage. We’re creating more natural spaces at the heart of our historic properties, ensuring that wildflowers and wildlife can flourish there once again, and helping our visitors to step back into history and experience something with which the sites’ historic occupants would have been familiar.
“We hope that it will encourage local communities to get involved and help transform their local heritage sites into flower-rich meadows, which, in turn, will improve the quality and diversity of other grassland in the local area.”
Ian Dunn, Plantlife chief executive, said, “This exciting partnership offers a lifeline to key grassland sites and their associated wildlife, and focuses on a chapter of English natural history lost and all but forgotten. “Together, we look forward to a future where England’s best historic sites boast the highest quality grasslands, supporting a myriad of diverse meadow plants and wildlife.
“With so many of our grassland wild plant species facing severe risks, this insightful initiative is unquestionably a step in the right direction.”
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