In this webinar, our panel of experts explored why species-rich wildflower meadows are an important tool for combatting the biodiversity emergency, and how you can create your own mini wildflower meadow.

The recording was made 24 February 2021 at the time of the live webinar.

Wildflower meadows: why and how

Over 97% of the UK’s species-rich grasslands have been lost over the past 100 years, but there’s a growing movement to create and restore species-rich meadows. In this webinar our panel of experts from CAT and National Botanic Garden of Wales came together to discuss why species-rich meadows are important, and how you can create your own. 

Meet the speakers

John Challen

John is the Head of Eco Centre at CAT where he manages our Estates and Engagement teams. He leads on the development of the CAT visitor and guest experience and on shaping the vision for the site’s future development. John graduated from the University of Salford in 1985 with a BSc in Geography and went on to complete a postgraduate qualification in museum curatorship and operation. Before coming to CAT, John spent 30 years working in the museum world, bringing historic sites and technologies alive for visitors. 

Rob Goodsell

Rob is the Biodiversity and Natural Resources Manager at CAT. Rob and the team work to improve the habitat and opportunities for biodiversity on the CAT sites including building a ‘mosaic’ for species to use. Rob’s current projects include restoring a wet woodland and eradicating rhododendron ponticum from the site.

Bruce Langridge

Bruce is the Head of Interpretation at the National Botanic Garden of Wales where he has worked since 2003. His responsibilities include helping to manage Waun Las National Nature Reserve and engaging Botanic Garden visitors with biodiversity conservation issues, especially wildflowers and fungi. A former field botanist with the likes of the Nature Conservancy Council and Greater Manchester Ecology Unit, and museum curator at Gallery Oldham, Bruce has over thirty years’ experience in nature conservation. 

Kevin McGinn

Kevin joined the National Botanic Garden of Wales in early 2018 as Science Officer for the Growing the Future project. In this role, he established and coordinates the National Seed Bank of Wales in the Botanic Garden’s Science Centre and the Saving Pollinators Assurance Scheme for pollinator-friendly plants grown without peat and pesticides. Before joining the Botanic Garden, Kevin worked for two years at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew identifying trees in the living collections. Prior to that, Kevin completed a PhD on the ecology of invasive plants, based in New Zealand.

More Online Events and Webinars

From practical building tips to in-depth explorations of how we can rise to the climate emergency, our newly developed webinars, online short courses and online events cover a wide range of topics relating to sustainability.

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