Brian and Angela Nicholas
Mole Valley, Exmoor
An unploughed meadow with over 170 species of plant recorded
Our river meadow nestled in the Mole Valley covers 14 acres and is a County Wildlife Site.
There is no record of the meadow ever being ploughed and it has taken 30 years of management and farming organically to reach its present state
Wild flowers such as Orchids and Yellow Rattle first appeared around the margins of the meadow and quickly spread across helped by the occasional flooding of the River Mole bringing seed down from Exmoor.
Over 170 species of plants have been identified by the Devon Botany Group, some of which are Devon rarities
In summer, the Meadow Brown and Silver Washed Fritillaries put on a spectacular show. The meadow is bordered by the River Mole with its Otters, Dippers and Kingfishers. There are seventeen bat species who feed over the meadow and Devon Wildlife Trust collect seed from the meadow each year for distribution to other sites.
Other "Me and my Meadow" stories
Robert Powell and Jane Emberson
Dousland, near Yelverton
Establishing patches of meadow and other habitats in a garden in west Devon brings in the wildlife
Steve Pollard
Beetor Farm, North Bovey
The restoration of a species-rich down, which was cut for silage for many years on a working farm. In the last seven years it has been managed as a hay meadow with an ever-increasing abundance of naturally occurring flora, including three types of orchid.
Jackie Parsons and Joe Kelly
Holne
A smallholding with a late summer species-rich meadow, used by ewes and lambs and much other wildlife.