AN URGENT public appeal has been issued by a county conservation charity which needs to raise £50,000 in just three months to save an internationally rare meadow in a Malvern village.
The Worcestershire Wildlife Trust (WWT) needs to find the remaining money of the £460,000 target by December to purchase Hardwick Green Meadows in Eldersfield.
Severn Waste Services had pledged £50,000 to the cause while the WWT is currently at the second stage of an application for £200,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
The rest has been raised by individuals.
So far the WWT has raised more than £25,000 of the final £50,000 from its Forgotten Floodplains Appeal but with time running out, the group is calling on residents to pledge their support to secure the future of the meadows.
The meadows are currently owned by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation which agreed to buy them on a short-term basis to give the WTT time to raise the necessary funds.
Mike Perry, head of resources for the WWT, said: “England has lost around 97 per cent of meadows over the last 70 years and floodplain meadows like the ones we’re currently trying to save are rarer still.
“There are just 3,500 acres of floodplain meadow left in the UK – that’s only the size of Heathrow Airport.
“Hardwick Green Meadows represents 1.5 per cent of these meadows so it’s vital that they are saved for the future.”
The meadows are rich in plants like great burnet, pepper saxifrage and corky-fruited water dropwort.
These scarce collection of flowers in turn provide support for butterflies, bees, birds and a whole host of wildlife.
Barn owls have been seen scouting the fields on the hunt for food, brown hares are a common sight in the meadows and an otter has been filmed using the watercourses which run through the site.
Mr Perry said if the WTT failed to raise the money needed to buy the meadows, they would go back on the open market and risk being lost forever as there was no legal protection on them.
“Hardwick Green Meadows are part of a cluster of important floodplain grasslands, creating corridors and networks of habitat,” he added.
“With them in our ownership, we can not only secure this critical part of this living landscape but, through restoration work and careful management, we can enhance its wildlife value and recognise the historic natural world.
“Our Forgotten Floodplains Appeal has got off to an amazing start but we’ve got some way to go before the future of these beautiful meadows is secure.
“We are determined to succeed.”
If successful in its fund-raising mission, the WTT hopes to involve the local community and schools in its restoration projects.
While the Hardwick Green Meadows are already in good condition, the trust needs to make structural improvements such as repairing bridges over the watercourses to ease management of the individual fields.
A video explaining more about the meadows is available at www.youtube.com/c/WorcswildlifetrustUK1 – the WTT’s YouTube channel.
For further information or to donate visit www.worcswildlifetrust.co.uk/appeal or call 01905 754919.
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