National Meadows Day @ Pyecombe Golf Club

Fresh off the back of our STRI National Environmental Golf Club of the Year 2016 Award, Pyecombe Golf Club is proud to participate in the National Meadow’s Day, run by Plantlife.org on Saturday 2nd July @ 4pm.

National Meadow’s Day is now in its second year, with up to 100 events taking place across England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales in celebration of ancient wildflower meadows and their wildlife. This is an opportunity to experience first-hand the wonder of a flower-rich meadow right on your doorstep.

Pyecombe Golf Club is holding an Open Afternoon, commencing with a short talk from our Beekeeper on how Bees help encourage meadows to thrive, followed by a course walk with our Head Greenkeeper Simon Wells and representatives of the RSPB to help answer questions. The walk will showcase our natural meadows and we’ll also discuss the initiatives that help us support the surrounding environment.

Situated in the South Downs National Park, 5 miles north of Brighton, Pyecombe provides panoramic views of the area and provides a range of natural habitats for the surrounding wildlife. Ecology shines through in all programs - Pyecombe is not just a Golf Course, but a nature reserve too, managed to the highest of standards.

Project Manager Claire Parton from Plantlife says “National Meadows Day, brilliantly supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), is about putting local meadows on the map. We are all familiar with our local woodland, but for many, meadows are more mysterious - in their full glory for only a few months of the year. They are spectacular landscapes to be in and we hope the events going on across the country and supported by Pyecombe Golf Club will act as a catalyst to raise awareness of this increasingly rare and fragile part of our natural heritage.”

Why do meadows matter so much?
Just 100 years ago there would have been a meadow in every Sussex parish, supporting a way of life that had gone on for centuries. They provided grazing and hay for livestock, employment, and food and medicine for the parish and were part of a community’s cultural and social history.

A healthy meadow can be home to over 150 species of wild plants and flowers, such as early purple, pyramidal, common spotted and bee orchids, plus yellow rattle, compared to modern grassland which support under ten species. The wildflower meadows created are excellent for pollinating insects including bees and the club has 12 beehives on the course providing a constant supply of Pyecombe Honey. Bird’s-foot trefoil alone is a food plant for over 150 species of insect, which in turn support birds such as skylarks and lapwings.

Just 3% of meadows that existed in the 1930’s remain - that’s a loss of 7.5 million acres of wild flower grassland. Only 26,000 acres of classic lowland meadows found across England and Wales are left. Put simply, the decline of meadows and species-rich grasslands, says Plantlife’s Dr Trevor Dines, is one of the biggest upsets in the history of UK nature conservation “If 97% of our woodland was destroyed there’d be a national outcry. But meadows have disappeared from our lives gradually and quietly. Without the roar of chainsaws or the sound of mighty oaks crashing to the ground, a meadow can be ploughed up, unnoticed, in an afternoon.”

National Meadows Day is just one part of ‘Save Our Magnificent Meadows’, a UK-wide partnership project, supported thanks to the National Lottery players. The project is bringing meadows back to life, with the restoration of over 14,000 acres, working with landowners, volunteers, farmers and trainees, nearly 47,000 people have been actively engaged with the project to date.

The Course Walk and Talk is taking place at Pyecombe Golf Club, Clayton Hill, Pyecombe, BN45 7FF at 4pm on Saturday 2nd July 2016. Family and friends are most welcome, however, booking is essential to confirm your place. Please call Matt Bolton on 01273 845372 option 2 with confirmation of your numbers between the hours of 8.30am to 4.30pm Monday to Friday, or leave a message. Alternatively email info@pyecombegolfclub.com with names and numbers.

Further information can be found via http://www.magnificentmeadows.org.uk/visit-learn/event/pyecombe-golf-club-national-meadows-day-course-walk-talk-west-sussex