National Highways and conservation charity Plantlife have joined forces to launch an £8m programme that aims to improve species and habitats across England.
The government-owned company said the Meadow Makers project will help restore the biodiversity of over 100 hectares of grasslands across seven sites in the South West and North East.
The aim is to drive up grassland restoration, focusing on creating an abundance and diversity of plants and fungi.
National Highways said ancient wildflower meadows and other permanent species-rich grasslands are exceptionally important habitats for wild plants and fungi, supporting pollinators, birds and a wide variety of other wildlife pressures from intensive agricultural practices, but development and other land use changes mean only small, fragmented areas of species-rich grassland remain.
There is also clear evidence that increased species richness in grasslands – particularly deep-rooting plant species – can improve storage of carbon in the soil, it added.
National Highways said Meadow Makers will go beyond caring for the 3% of wildflower meadows that remain in the UK and will work with third-party landowners to deliver restoration and creation on species-rich meadows.
It added that by partnering with Plantlife, the ambition is for species rich wildflower and waxcap grasslands to be restored and protected at scale and that it hopes that by 2040 the project will contribute towards the wider goal of restoring 100,000 hectares of species-rich grassland.
Stephen Elderkin, environmental sustainability division lead for National Highways, said: ‘The partnership with Plantlife will be a vital step in delivering a more sustainable road network that protects and enhances the environment.
‘With competing pressures on the UK’s land, it is now clear that organisations like National Highways and Plantlife need to make the most of the country’s grasslands.
‘At National Highways, our work goes beyond operating, maintaining and improving roads; we’re investing in the environment and communities surrounding our network, helping to unlock the creation and enhancement of habitats, and this is an example of the difference we can make with designated funding.’
Plantlife CEO Ian Dunn said: ‘This funding represents nothing short of a step change for grasslands conservation. Working with National Highways and nature-friendly landowners, Plantlife now gears up to restore up to 111 hectares of grasslands across seven sites.
‘From Dartmoor to Yorkshire, this funding builds on the success of previous Meadow Maker programmes to provide a road-tested map to a brighter, better future for grasslands, one of our most vulnerable and threatened habitats.'
National Highways said that last year it gave £7m to a combined group of Network for Nature projects with The Wildlife Trusts, which was one of the biggest contributors towards biodiversity improvements in the company’s history.
