Rare floodplain meadow given to wildlife trust

A photograph of a wildflower meadow, packed full of green grass, grass heads, yellow buttercup flowers and dark red flowers. On the horizon is a hedge, trees and the roofs of a couple of houses under a hazy sky.

Image source, Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire & NorthamptonshireImage caption,

The six hectare (15-acre) meadow is to become the wildlife trust's 34th nature reserve in the county

ByKaty Prickett

Published45 minutes ago

A rare floodplain meadow is to be restored into a wildflower-rich habitat after it was donated to a conservation charity.

White Mills Meadow is on the banks of the River Nene at Earls Barton, near Northampton, and it was given to the trust by the Thompson family.

The six hectare (15-acre) site will become the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire & Northamptonshire's 34th reserve in Northamptonshire.

Conservation manager Matt Johnson said these meadows were "one of the rarest habitats in England" with "only around 2,000 hectares (4,242 acres) remaining".

"We'd like to say a big thank you to the Thompson family – we are very grateful for their generosity and for entrusting us with the care of this land," Johnson said.

"We will now restore it by reintroducing hay cuts and conservation grazing livestock will be brought on site to help manage it."

Floodplain meadows were once a traditional part of the countryside, providing food for grazing animals and storing rain water in the winter.

They also produce nectar-rich native flowers, which can support hundreds of species of insects.

The conservation charity unveiled its plan to reverse biodiversity loss across its three counties in March 2025.

According to the wildlife trust, there has been a 19% decline in wildlife in the UK since 1970 and nearly one in six species is threatened with extinction from Great Britain.

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