We were really pleased to be invited to join the Westminster Reception organised by Plantlife in the Churchill Room at the House of Commons on Tuesday 15th October. The event was a celebration of nature rich grasslands and a call to arms from NGOs, farmers, civil servants, MPs and Peers to better protect and restore grasslands, including floodplain meadows.
The reception came about as part of work urging the Government to take seriously the need for a Grassland Action Plan - a major strand of policy work the FMP have been involved with from the start with Plantlife. The aim of the event was to raise awareness within Government of the value nature rich grasslands have, the huge risk they face and the role public policy has in caring for them. It was a buzzy atmosphere full of grassland enthusiasts both familiar and new to the FMP. We took the opportunity to talk to various attendees including MPs such as Roz Savage MP, whose constituency covers Cricklade NNR, the Chair for Natural England Tony Juniper, and representatives from organisations like the NFU, Pasture for life, NFFN and CIEEM. We will be following up on these conversations as new links we can build upon or existing links to develop further.
The reception had been kindly sponsored by Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat MP for Bath) who delivered a compelling keynote speech calling on the UK Government to take a strategic approach, with a dedicated Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs resource for grasslands which could unlock vast potential for grasslands to contribute to the government’s commitments to nature, food, economy, climate, and health. During the Reception MPs and Peers were encouraged to sign an Early Day Motion, sponsored by Wera Hobhouse, highlighting the need for a strategic approach by Government “to make the most of this multifunctional national asset”.
Plantlife’s President Philip Mould OBE also spoke describing the names of grasslands and their wild plants as capsules of social history – a description we would certainly support.
The final speaker Sue Pritchard (CEO of the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission), an organic farmer, emphasised that “grasslands are absolutely at the heart of farming and a more resilient and sustainable future” and that a “Grassland Action Plan for England could be part of a strategic approach to land, situated within a Land Use Framework”.
As demonstrated by the ‘England Trees Action Plan’ and the ‘England Peat Action Plan’, a joined-up approach to habitats can deliver large-scale change and benefits. Grasslands deserve the same level of strategic focus and investment given to peatland and woodland for the rich ecosystems and services they provide. In particular, the role of grasslands in tackling climate change has been systemically undervalued. An estimated 2 billion tons of carbon is already stored in their undisturbed soils across Great Britain – and they could absorb even more carbon if we change the way we manage them to bring back a diversity of plants and fungi. Our own research into soil carbon in floodplains is already building evidence to show this: from 0-50 cm below ground, arable floodplain soils store substantially less soil carbon than ancient species-rich meadow floodplain soils.
We took along our beautiful weaving art work produced with Alice Walker which garnered a lot of attention and praise, once again highlighting the value art has for raising awareness. It was also great to see images of floodplain meadows on the screen as the speeches took place. This reception was a great opportunity to work with Plantlife on shared objectives and we are looking forward to building on the momentum created as a result in working towards a Grassland Action Plan.
Please do let us know if you or your organisation would like to sign up to our call for a Grassland Action Plan, or support our grassland advocacy.
Please also do encourage your MP to sign the Early Day motion in support of grasslands - here.
Images by Matt Bristow / Plantlife
