Country Life
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Photo: Meadow by Lianne de Mello
Discover your
wild meadows
Summer is by far the best time of year for exploring your local
meadow. Now wildflowers are blooming, butterflies are on the
wing, grasshoppers are singing and birds are raising young.
By Lianne de Mello, Hampshire &
Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust
In most of the UK, meadows
came about through people
felling forests thousands of years
ago, and subsequently grazing
livestock over many centuries.
Meadows are a habitat maintained
– and prevented from becoming
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something else – by the activity of
humans and our livestock.
Since these habitats were largely
shaped by centuries of grazing,
conservation organisations
continue the same management
today. It is only through
management of scrub and trees
that we can maintain the open
diversity of these wonderful
habitats. Meadows are therefore
also great places to look out for
our native livestock species.
The Wildlife Trust’s management