CORONATION meadows designated by King Charles in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire have seeded acres of new wildflower habitat to benefit wildlife across the three counties.

Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) has revealed the success of the scheme on the 10th anniversary of its launch.

King Charles, then Prince of Wales, established Coronation Meadows in partnership with The Wildlife Trusts and Plantlife in 2013 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of his mother's reign.

The initiative followed the publication of Plantlife's Our Vanishing Flora report in 2012 which highlighted the loss of 97% of the UK's wildflower meadows since the 1930s. The loss is significant because wildflower meadows can provide habitat for a unique range of plants, many of them rare, that in turn provide food and shelter for a wide range of bees, butterflies and other insects as well as amphibians, mammals and birds.

The charities identified 60 species-rich meadows across the UK, one for every year of the Queen’s reign, which would become donors of precious seed to create valuable and beautiful wildflower habitat elsewhere.

The Coronation Meadows included three at nature reserves managed by BBOWT: Chimney Meadows in Oxfordshire, Moor Copse in Berkshire and the Upper Ray Meadows in Buckinghamshire.

The charities have now carried out an audit of the project which reveals that a fantastic 101 new wildflower meadows have been created or restored across the UK, including six seeded by the BBOWT meadows.

Estelle Bailey, Chief Executive of BBOWT, said:
"We are currently facing a climate and nature crisis in this country which threatens people and wildlife. Thankfully we know that a powerful way to tackle both these challenges is to create more nature everywhere, and wildflower meadows are a fantastic way to do this.

"As well as providing habitats for a hugely diverse range of important species that can naturally seed the ecology of the local area, these dense meadows can also be useful carbon stores. King Charles has been an environmental champion for decades, and the results of the Coronation Meadows initiative are a fantastic testament to his commitment and a wonderful way to celebrate the late Queen."

BBOWT has donated wildflower seed from its three meadows to a range of local nature lovers. Chimney Meadows and Upper Ray Meadows gifted green hay to local farmers and landowners who have been able to create wild corners of their sites in Oxfordshire and Berkshire.

Berkshire’s Moor Copse – a tranquil nature reserve on the banks of the River Pang which is thought to have inspired Wind in the Willows illustrator EH Shepherd – gave seed to a new community-run nature reserve at nearby Shinfield.

All the charities involved are delighted that the Coronation Meadows project has increased the number of wildflower meadows and benefitted a vast array of wildlife, from bees and butterflies to bats and birds.

The area is still expanding as the charities continue to harvest and spread the wildflower seed in sites close to the original meadows so that the distinctive character of each area’s flora is preserved.

Biffa Award, through the Landfill Communities Fund, contributed £1 million to fund the equipment and training needed for meadow restorations. In the first three years of the project alone, more than 700 volunteers gave their time. Seed was harvested from Coronation Meadows either as green hay, brush harvested seed or by hand, and this was used to seed second sites in the same area.

Craig Bennett, chief executive of The Wildlife Trusts, said:
“The expansion of our beautiful wildflower meadows is a wonderful legacy for communities everywhere to enjoy. The magnificent sight of wild orchids shimmering in a field of delicate wild grasses in the afternoon sun to the hum of bees is something that everyone deserves to experience and enjoy.

“As the nature and climate crises deepen, we must be bold if we want to reverse declines and help revive our meadow heritage. Ancient meadows have evolved alongside traditional farming methods over hundreds of years. Many of these have been selected as Local Wildlife Sites because of the rare and threatened plants that are found there but they have limited protection in planning policy. The next review of the National Planning Policy Framework later this year must see their protection strengthened. We also need to see greater support for wildflower meadows in the new farm environment schemes – it is critical that farmers are rewarded for restoring locally distinctive natural habitats where wild plants can thrive.”