This summer the Weald Meadows Initiative will be working with Kew's Millennium Seed Bank at Wakehurst to hand harvest 20 Weald wildflower species such as Autumn Hawkbit, Devil's Bit Scabious and Betony.
The species will be bulked up at Wakehurst and some of the seeds will be placed in storage at the Millennium Seed Bank. Some of the seed (or plant plugs grown from the seed) will be used by the Weald Meadows Group Partnership to help restore 20 hectares of grassland along the River Ouse. The seed will also be used to develop a demonstration site at Wakehurst that will trial different grassland restoration techniques.
The Meadows Officer has contacted around 30 landowners and organisations to identify potential harvesting sites and to date seven meadow sites have signed up for hand harvesting, with another five sites expected to follow.
The project forms part of a growing collaboration between the Weald Meadows Initiative and Kew's new Restoration Ecology Team and builds on the joint ‘Meadows - A Vanishing Landscape' exhibition hosted at Wakehurst last summer.
The Weald Meadows Initiative also mechanically harvests Weald native origin wildflower seed for meadow creation projects in the area. For further information contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , the Weald Meadows Officer.
Seed Harvesting Gallery
Share this article
