Healthy landscapes depend on connected habitats, and that starts with the people who care for them. Monmouthshire Meadows Group landowners have shown that they are keen not just to nurture their own fields and gardens, but to work with their neighbours to create something a little bigger than the sum of its parts.
At our Autumn 2025 meeting in Gwehelog, three local landowners shared their experiences of their own meadows and pastures. The enthusiasm of these three individuals inspired others to become involved, and we now have a network of 12 members in the Gwehelog area who have developed a small cluster for the benefit of local wildlife. Together, they are inspiring their friends and neighbours to join them in creating a nature friendly network. Helped by our volunteer botanist Tim Oliver they have developed their plant identification skills, and are learning together. Not only are they benefiting nature in this area, but they are also helping nature across the landscape, allowing plants, pollinators and other wildlife to move more freely between meadows and other habitats.
Gwehelog Cluster
Photo credit: Hamish Blair
According to the Second State of Natural Resources Report 2020, ‘semi-natural grassland is the most fragmented ecosystem in the Welsh lowlands; patches are widely scattered within landscapes dominated by improved grassland’.
While the major losses of this precious landscape occurred over the past century, these grassland habitats are still being lost through fertiliser application; atmospheric pollution; climate change; and land use change.
Here at Monmouthshire Meadows Group we are passionate about doing our bit to reverse the decline in wildflower meadows and pastures. We believe that our clusters provide a great model for connecting these small but precious resources across the landscape. We would love to see more local Clusters develop within the Monmouthshire Meadows Group community. If you are interested in developing a cluster in your area, please contact volunteer@monmouthshiremeadows.org.uk or fill in our volunteer form so that we can support you to get started.