Our next CMG meeting is Thursday 10th February at 7:30pm.  We’ll be hearing about, and discussing, floodplain meadows, and we’re very fortunate to have Leila Thornton from Natural Resources Wales as our guest speaker. 

Floodplain meadows generate a sustainable and prized hay crop, provide an important nectar source for pollinating insects, and support rare plant communities. They also provide flood-storage areas, trap sediment and store carbon, and will be increasingly valued for these functions as the climate changes. They provide a link with the past, and are a living reminder of traditional, rural landscapes and the ways of life that created them.  In Carmarthenshire, the restoration of the Bishop’s Palace at Abergwili near Carmarthen includes restoring the floodplain meadow there. 

Leila will be telling us about the history, wildlife and conservation status of floodplain meadows.  Leila is one of the Ambassadors for Wales of the Floodplain Meadows Partnership, which is an organisation hosted by the Open University, and is steered by the Environment Agency, Natural England, the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, the RSPB, the Field Studies Council, People Need Nature, and the National Trust. 

CMG members will be able to attend the meeting for free, but non-members are also very welcome to attend by paying a nominal entrance fee (£2).  If you’d like to attend the meeting but are not currently a CMG member, you can get a ticket (or join the group if you so wish) by visiting:https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/floodplain-meadows-tickets-230373983787

If you are a CMG member you don’t need to buy a ticket, and you’ll already have been sent details of how to join the meeting.

This should be a very interesting talk and discussion, so we hope many followers of the website will join us.