Plantlife

Plantlife is a U.K. plant conservation charity, founded in 1989. As of 2005, its membership was 12,000.

Plantlife's principal activities in Britain include the following:

Management of nature reserves
Running a rare species conservation programme, "Back from the Brink"
Lobbying and campaigning in support of its aims
Organising surveys aimed at generating interest in wild plants by members of the public

It also has an international arm.

Plantlife Nature Reserves

Plantlife run the following nature reserves:

Long Herdon and Grange Meadows, Buckinghamshire
Munsary Peatlands, Caithness
Cae Blaen-dyffryn, Carmarthenshire
Greena Moor, Cornwall
Augill Pasture, Cumbria
Deep Dale, Derbyshire
Ryewater Farm, Dorset
Caeau Tan y Bwlch, Gwynedd
Davies Meadows, Herefordshire
Joan's Hill Farm, Herefordshire
The Lugg Meadows, Herefordshire
Moaney and Crawyn's Meadows, Isle of Man
Queendown Warren, Kent
Ranscombe Farm, Kent
Thompson Meadow, North Yorkshire
Winskill Stones, North Yorkshire
Seaton Meadows, Rutland
Skylark Meadows, Somerset
Side Farm Meadows, Staffordshire
Winks Meadow, Suffolk
Furnace Meadow and Brick Kiln Rough, West Sussex
Stockwood Meadows, Worcestershire
Upton Ham, Worcestershire

The Back from the Brink programme

Plantlife's "Back from the Brink" programme was initiated in 1991. Its intention was to focus conservation efforts on some of the rarest plant species in Britain. It initially concenrated on vascular plants but was extended to cover lower plants and fungi. As of 2006, 101 species are covered by the programme. The programme included survey work to establish information about populations of these species, monitoring of populations to identify change over time and the factors relating to this, research into ecological requirements of the species, and site management work aimed at maintaining or restoring habitat conditions suitable for these species.

The Plantlife county flowers competition

In 2002 Plantlife ran a competition to select county flowers for all counties of the UK. The list was declared in 2004. A campaign led by the Eastern Daily Press changed the selection for Norfolk. A list of the flowers chosen can be found at List of county flowers of the United Kingdom.

Important Plant Areas

Plantlife has developed the concept of Important Plant Areas, first in Britain, and is currently working on extending this concept worldwide.

Plantlife and Fungi

Although much of Plantlife's work is centred on plants, it is also involved in the conservation of fungi. Its work in this areas include surveying Waxcap grasslands and compiling a list of Britain's Important Fungus Areas.

External Links

Plantlife website