Month: June 2017

Over 50,000 hours of conservation and wildflower restoration work by volunteers, creating 11 new jobs in local businesses and engaging 1,500 young people with nature are just some of the success stories in the recently published Annual Review 2016/17 by the Cotswolds Conservation Board.

The Cotswolds Conservation Board, which looks after the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) marked its 50th anniversary of being designated as a protected landscape in 2016. This gave the Board a huge opportunity to increase awareness to an ever increasing and diverse audience of stakeholders of the special qualities of this nationally important landscape: Rich in farming, tourism and nature but hugely important for the UK’s economy.

2016/17 Success stories:

•  2,536 hours of restoration work by volunteers at 36 wildflower grassland sites,
•  48,338 hours of conservation work by voluntary wardens equated to an estimated value of £322,000,
• 553 people trained on over 70 rural skills courses,
• 402,994 unique visits to the Board’s websites,
• 44,523 visitors to the Cotswolds Discovery Centre,
• 4833 people enjoying free guided walks,
•  Over 12,000 people following the Cotswolds AONB on social media,
•  2,000 visitors to the Cotswolds Living Landscape Festival.

As well as reviewing the past year, the Annual Review also looks at the year ahead and the future priorities for the Board, which include reviewing and consulting on the AONB Management Plan and protecting and investing in the natural capital of the Cotswolds.

The Board’s Chairman Liz Eyre said: “The Board has been working to deliver real benefits for residents and visitors – and indeed for the country as a whole.

I am delighted to present this excellent record with sincere thanks to all those who have helped to deliver these benefits”.

The Board are proud members of the national family of Protected Landscapes, incorporating both National Parks and AONBs and are third largest of those special places after the Lakes and Yorkshire Dales. The Cotswolds Conservation Board offers exceptional value for money and the economic activity and jobs linked to the Cotswolds landscape mean that the area is so much more than just a lovely view.

The Annual Review summarises the work undertaken by the Board’s staff, members, volunteers and partner organisations during the last financial year.  Despite economically challenging times, the support and partnership working across the area has continued to bring a wide range of benefits to the Cotswolds AONB and its local communities.

You can view the Annual Review by clicking here or download the info-graphic to see how the Board has made a difference in 2016/17.

Saturday 1 July 2017  #NationalMeadowsDay

• Save the date: National Meadows Day to take place on 1 July 2017
• Wildflower meadows are vanishing; 97% have been lost since the 1930s
• A single healthy meadow can be home to over 80 species of wild flowers

National Meadows Day (1), dedicated to celebrating and protecting our vanishing wildflower meadows and the wealth of wildlife they support, will take place on Saturday 1 July 2017. This year’s National Meadows Day will be the biggest yet, with over 100 events (2) taking place across England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.

From barefoot walks and scything workshops, to picnics and bug hunts, people will have the opportunity to experience first-hand the petalled-paradise that is a meadow in summer.
Hucclecote Meadows on the outskirts of Gloucester was rescued from development and remains an oasis of wildflowers and insect life. To celebrate National Meadows Day, the Cotswolds Conservation Board and Gloucester City Council  have organised a medicinal herb walk from with Max Drake from the Urban Fringe Dispensary, natural sculpture making sessions with artist Alan May, as well as wildflower and butterfly ID sessions and pond dipping! All are welcome – come and find out why meadows matter, from 1pm to 4pm.

For a full programme of events taking place in the Cotswolds visit; www.magnificentmeadows.org.uk.

National Meadows Day is the headline event of Save Our Magnificent Meadows (3), the UK’s largest partnership project transforming the fortunes of our vanishing wildflower meadows, grasslands and wildlife. Plantlife, supported by money raised by National Lottery players with a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) (4), is spearheading the project.

Claire Parton, Save Our Magnificent Meadows Project Manager, said:
"Meadows, once a feature of every parish in the Cotswolds, are now an increasingly fragile part of our national heritage but all is not lost. National Meadows Day is the perfect way to explore and enjoy the flowers and wildlife of the Cotswolds magnificent meadows and understand their special place in our shared social and cultural history".

"Beyond being a quintessential sight of summer, meadows’ value to our wildlife cannot be overstated – a single healthy meadow can be home to over 80 species of wild flowers, such as cuckoo flower, yellow rattle, orchids, knapweed and scabious, compared to most modern agricultural pasture which typically  supports under a dozen species."

Eleanor Reast, Conservation Officer for Save Our Magnificent Meadows in the Cotswolds, said:

“Just 100 years ago there would have been a meadow in every Cotswold parish, supporting a way of life that had gone on for centuries. They provided grazing and hay for livestock, employment, and food and medicine for the parish and were part of a community’s cultural and social history. Today, just 3% of the meadows that existed in the 1930’s remain (5) – that’s a loss of 7.5 million acres of wild flower grassland”.

•    1) National Meadows Day is the headline event of Save Our Magnificent Meadows, the UK’s largest partnership project transforming the fortunes of our vanishing wildflower meadows, grasslands and wildlife.
•    2) For more information about the events taking place on National Meadows Day please visit www.magnificentmeadows.org.uk.
•    3) Led by Plantlife, the Save Our Magnificent Meadows partnership is made up of 11 organisations and is primarily funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. The partnership consists of Cotswolds Conservation Board, Medway Valley Countryside Partnership, National Trust Wales, Northumberland Wildlife Trust, Plantlife, RSPB (working in Scotland and Wiltshire), Scottish Wildlife Trust, Somerset Wildlife Trust, Ulster Wildlife, and Wiltshire Wildlife Trust.
•    4) Thanks to National Lottery players, Heritage Lottery Fund invest money to help people across the UK explore, enjoy and protect the heritage they care about – from the archaeology under our feet to the historic parks and buildings we love, from precious memories and collections to rare wildlife. www.hlf.org.uk. Follow HLF on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and use #HLFsupported.
•    5) https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/may/18/losing-97-percent-britain-wildflower-meadows-matters-butterfly