History and Current Aims and Objectives (updated)

The PGP started in 2001 with the aims of raising interest in, and knowledge of, the grasslands on the former commons of St Briavels, Hewelsfield and Brockweir in the Wye Valley, and offering help and advice on grassland management.

A group of residents recognised that the flower-rich meadows and pastures of the Hudnalls (central to the Parish) and adjacent areas were an important component of our environment, but feared that grassland management was becoming more difficult with the downturn in income from cattle and sheep, and the difficulties associated with foot-and-mouth disease. We thought in response that a community-based initiative would help owners (most of whom are not farmers) to restore neglected fields and maintain them as attractive meadows and pastures, though we knew that many owners were happy with their current arrangements.

Since then we have: held indoor meetings on old orchard restoration, horse-pasture management and grassland butterflies; visited several properties to share experience of management; published several editions of a Newsletter; carried out a general survey of grassland condition; collected records of wild plants; published a guide to local flowers, two local walks leaflets and a small book on local grasslands; and enjoyed harvest barbecues. Several members entered the Stewardship Scheme run by DEFRA, and now enjoy financial support for management in return for limited undertakings on management. We have also collaborated with MMG to arrange Open Days to local flower-rich fields in early June of each third year.

Currently, we continue to raise interest through meetings, publications and display boards AND offer direct help for grassland owners who want help with grassland management. Our service, which is available to members, is free and based on our own local experience. We can also help identify any flowers of interest.

Anyone can join the PGP, whether or not they own grassland. We ask a subscription of £10 per annum to cover costs of meetings, Newsletter, phones, etc. Up to 80 people in or near the parishes have been members during the initial years, and meetings have attracted up to 60 participants

Aims and Objectives 2025

The parishes of St Briavels, Hewelsfield and Brockweir are very special. They contain important sites for wildlife and historic landscape features of national and international importance. Many people choose to live here or visit because of these special features. They are also places where people need to make a living. The Parish Grasslands Project (PGP) was originally established to help owners conserve and manage one of the important features of the parish – the network of small unimproved fields on the commons. The ‘project’ has evolved and increased in scope to address a wider range of the issues. The committee now proposes a broader aim for the project: to raise awareness and promote the conservation, sustainable use and restoration of nature and the historic landscape features of the parishes and adjacent areas, including their grasslands, woodlands, orchards, trees, waysides, fields and field boundaries, wetlands and water courses, and the wildlife that they support. The committee recognises that this aim must be met in the wider context of the global challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss and food security.

Objectives:

  • to raise awareness of nature and the historic landscape features of the parishes;
  • to prevent the further loss of habitats and species and promote their conservation, sustainable use and restoration to enhance biodiversity;
  • to maintain the natural and historic landscape features of the parishes, a large part of which lie in the Wye Valley National Landscape;
  • to promote efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change, contribute to carbon neutrality, food security, health and well-being and the local economy;
  • to foster and develop a community of knowledge, practice and capability to support the above objectives.

Activities:

  • Talks, walks, field visits, school children’s outing and information exchanges
  • Informal advisory services (eg animal husbandry, grassland management advice, help with grant applications)
  • Training and developing skills (plant ID, hedge laying, scything etc…)
  • Projects e.g. homes for wildlife (owls, swifts, reptiles and pond life)
  • Surveys, inventory, recording, monitoring
  • Walks leaflets, information about local wildlife and history
  • Advice and information sharing with public bodies: Parish Councils, District Council, National Landscape, Natural England, Forestry England, Historic England, Environment Agency, Wildlife Trusts
  • Newsletter, website, social media, contacts and networking

Meetings, newsletter, website:

The PGP generally has two meetings per year, the AGM with a talk on an evening in March and a talk on a Saturday in October. The PGP also organises one or two local visits for members each year and series of ‘signs of Spring’ walks. A newsletter is published twice a year and information about events, advice and member stories are provided on the PGP website