We have been busy visiting as many restoration fields and potential restoration fields as we can this summer, and still have more to do before the hay is cut! There is a lot of activity out there, and we have had many conversations about plans that people are making for the next few years for restoration projects, particularly thinking about wider landscape-scale restoration, making meadow corridors along rivers and looking for community-based projects. We have been to Northamptonshire, Wiltshire, Herefordshire, Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Staffordshire and Shropshire and are yet to visit Cumbria. Phew!
Some of the sites are restoration fields we have visited before, that we wanted to re-visit to see how they are getting on. Others are potential restoration fields, with land managers wanting to discuss what might be feasible. Finally, we have also been shown some great restoration fields that we have not seen before, including a floodplain meadow orchard at Severn Valley Country Park. That’s a new one to us, but is similar to floodplain meadow orchards that we saw in Germany a few years ago, where it is quite a common thing.
Below is a selection of images of fields that we have visited. If you have a project, underway or in mind, please do get in touch. We hope we will be able to continue these visits over the next few years and we can add you to our list.
