We have secured further funding this year to run some targeted support to individuals who are applying to CGS18, having got an invitation to apply. The support offered would depend on what is needed, and would be limited to a smaller number of individuals.
There are some requirements:
- You need to be in the pipeline/on the invitation list to apply for the CGS18 Action, or be working with someone whose land is on the list (Natural England hold the list).
- You would benefit from some more support in terms of answering technical aspects about whether the land would be suitable for restoration, or how to get it to be suitable for restoration.
- You need to be available for some time over this winter and next spring to attend support sessions (probably online).
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You may need to be able to host a field visit next spring/summer for one of our surveyors to come and look at the site.
We are keen to encourage anyone who thinks this would be helpful to fill in this form by 30th November.
https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/dQWGtbW0MB?origin=lprLink
Training in summer 2026
As reported in our last newsletter we ran a series of webinars in Feb and March this year about the CGS18 Action. You can read more about those webinars here https://floodplainmeadows.org.uk/keep-updated/news/cgs18-management-species-rich-floodplain-meadows-training-events
We followed up the webinars with five field visits, in different parts of the country, in order to help show what we had talked about in the webinars, on the ground. These were great follow up sessions. We visited Portholme Meadow in Cambridgeshire, Leigh Common, Gloucestershire, Long Mead, Oxfordshire, Clifton Ings and Rawcliffe Meadow, Yorkshire and Chertsey Mead in Surrey. Across the visits, we had 116 attendees and loads of questions.
We also asked questions of those who attended the webinar series and a field visit, to try and understand what had worked, what people had learnt, and what could be developed further. To date we have had 65 responses – but if you attended the training and would still like to add your response please do follow the link to the questionnaire https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/11QND8UUTy?origin=lprLink
We had sunshine and rain, and at Long Mead we could use the barn to avoid a very wet morning. At Portholme, we sheltered under trees 😊
Taking shelter in the barn at Long Mead (Oxfordshire) while it rained.
Some headline feedback was that the course series was very well received and many attendees increased their understanding about the CGS18 Action, using botanical data to interpret site information, and management and restoration of floodplain meadows. An area that people felt unsure of however was hydrology. We are pondering how we can help with this element and may put together a specific webinar on the topic.
Part of the course involved completing some pre course material – namely our Open Learn course on floodplain meadows, to give some general background. Many of the participants did this, and it prompted us to check our Open Learn statistics. So far, since it was launched in 2025, 1257 people have completed it. If you would like to have a go, please follow this link
https://www.open.edu/openlearn/nature-environment/an-introduction-floodplain-meadows/content-section-overview?active-tab=description-tab
Attendees at Portholme Meadow (Cambridgeshire)
