Restoration work is now taking place at Buckland Abbey’s Green Hay meadow to make the historic National Trust property more wildlife and nature friendly.

This restoration work to the meadow comes as the result of a partnership between Devon Wildlife Trust’s working wetlands project and the National Trust, with the aim to establish a local network of traditional wildflower meadows across the Tavy catchment. In future, it is hoped these sites will then provide a local seed source to use for further restoration work on new sites.

David Thomas, working wetlands advisory officer for Dartmoor at Devon Wildlife Trust said: ‘This has been planned for some time. The green hay in this instance was harvested on Dartmoor at the Bellever Moor Meadows DWT reserve, made into bales and then brought down to the site at Buckland Abbey before being fired across the field. The Buckland site had been prepared by cutting existing grasses down low and then harrowing (or scarifying) the ground to remove thatch and create areas of bare soil ready to receive the green hay and seed.’

Sites like this can take two or more years for all the desired species to get established, but once they have will provide seed source for further sites and serve as a food source for insects and pollinators.

David added: ‘Small mammals and amphibians, insects and a range of birds will benefit from the traditional meadow’s restoration. There will also be improvements to water quality filtering through the meadow and improved drainage from the varied root structures contained within the meadow sward. Restoration work of this type is critically important in supporting wildlife through the effects of climate change and ecological crises in addition to the management of water and associated flood risk.’