Bees are essential. Almost 90% of wild plants and 75% of global crops are dependent upon animal pollination with bees doing the most pollinating. In the East of England 73 species of bee are threatened, regionally extinct or of conservation concern. Habitat loss is one of the main causes for bee decline. One of the most critical habitats for bees are wildflower meadows. Since the 1930’s we have lost a devastating 97% of our meadows across the UK. Just 0.5% of Hertfordshire is wildflower meadow today.

Livestock grazing and mowing are crucial to saving and protecting our wildflower meadows; they remove dominant grass and scrub, allowing rare plants to flourish, and create bare ground and dung which together provide food and homes for bees and other insects. We plan on using a combination of cattle, sheep and specialist mowers to graze and cut our grassland meadows within our nature reserves across Hertfordshire and Middlesex.