Three thousand acres of meadows blooming in Devon

Members of Devon's largest meadow-makers community now collectively manage more than 3,000 acres of wildflower meadows, a milestone which coincides with the group's tenth anniversary this summer

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MOOR Meadows was formed on Dartmoor in 2015, as a forum for sharing knowledge, equipment and wildflower seeds among people keen to increase flower-rich grassland on the moor, to help reverse the declines of wild plants and wildlife seen during recent decades.

Over the last ten years, membership of the group has grown both in numbers of meadows on the map, and in coverage across the whole of Devon. This collective effort of hundreds of people has been a process of learning together and then sharing successes for wildlife and people.

As Moor Meadows member Amanda Makin said: "I love learning about how marvellous nature is and how I can encourage biodiversity in my own orchard."

Moor Meadows members now manage 720 wildflower meadows covering 3,059 acres across Devon, all havens for the butterflies, bees and other insects that rely on a diverse array of flowering plants.

Land within Dartmoor National Park remains the single area of Devon with the highest number of meadows on the Moor Meadows map, though 423 of the sites are found elsewhere in the county.

An additional 40 meadows totalling 191 acres have been submitted by Moor Meadows members over the county boundaries in Cornwall and Somerset.