A message from Andrew, our Chair:

This was held as a virtual event for the first time this year, which enabled anyone (who had the time) to attend a large number of talks and discussions without having to travel to a conference venue, or pay to stay there for a week.  Over the five days there were many talks of great interest to anyone who cares about biodiversity and conservation, either as an amateur or as a professional.  All the talks were recorded, and can be found on the WBP website:

https://www.biodiversitywales.org.uk/Wales-Biodiversity-Partnership-Conference-2020

and I’m sure anyone who looks at our CMG website will find plenty to interest them at the conference.

Of particular relevance to a Meadows Group were the talks on the Thursday afternoon relating to road verges, and how they are maintained.  They have the potential to vastly increase the area of species rich grassland in all of Wales and the wider UK, and to do so could well cost less than the way they are managed now.  Have a look at these talks:

“Transforming the management of Welsh road verges for biodiversity” by Dr Kate Petty of Plantlife 

“Invertebrate diversity of wildflower verges in Rhondda Cynon Taf” by Dr Liam Olds

This talk shows see how much potential this idea has, especially as we enter a time when the amount of money available to spend on road verge maintenance will be decreasing. The subsequent talks on Thursday afternoon show how this can be done, and is being done in Denbighshire and Monmouthshire.  And on Friday afternoon, Lucia Chmurova of Plantlife and James Roden of the National Trust gave a talk on the Magnificent Meadows Wales project:

So have a look, you can learn a lot from these talks!

Best wishes

Andrew