Rare bumblebee numbers are increasing in Shropshire thanks to a successful project to restore old hay meadows.

The National Trust is leading the Stepping Stones initiative, aiming to reconnect isolated wildlife habitats across the Long Mynd and Stiperstones. Jinlye Meadows, on the Long Mynd, is now flourishing with wildflowers and insects, leading to a rise in bilberry bumblebee populations.

Volunteers are invited to join the project to continue this work across the county. Yellow rattle seed is crucial for creating meadows, and the Stepping Stones team is inviting people to help collect it. This plant slows grass growth by attaching to its root system, promoting the growth of diverse wildflower species.

National Trust staff are collaborating with tenant farmer Martyn Bebb of Mose Farm on the Dudmaston Estate, where wildflower seed was sown a year ago. The fields are now teeming with wildflowers and pollinating insects.

Mr Bebb said the arable land being worked on at Dudmaston was about 160 acres in size that will be a “mixed mosaic of heathland, acidic grassland and wood pasture, which will benefit a host of wildlife” when complete.

Charlie Bell, project manager for Stepping Stones, stated their mission is to help replace the 97% of meadows lost in the UK over the last century.

“Many old meadows have been ploughed up and re-seeded with more productive mixes of grasses,” she said.

“Fertilisers are often added to increase the growth of these dominant productive grasses, at the expense of finer grass species and wildflowers.

“This loss has had a devastating impact on the plants and animals that use meadows for shelter, food and places to raise their young.”

 

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