- Plantlife
Plantlife is a wild plant conservation charity, founded in 1989. As of 2007, its membership was 10,500 and it owned 23 nature reserves around the UK. Its patron is HRH the Prince of Wales, its president is
Adrian Darby OBE and its chairman is Roger Crofts. The chief executive is Victoria Chester, who took over fromJane Smart OBE in 2006.Plantlife's principal activities in Britain include the following:
* Management of convert|4500|acre|km2 of rare and important plant habitats asnature reserve s
* Running a rare species conservation programme, "Back from the Brink"
* Lobbying and campaigning in support of wild plant conservation
* Organising surveys aimed at generating interest in wild plants by members of the public, including the annual Common Plants SurveyIt also has an international programme which includes projects on medicinal plant conservation and sustainable use in the Himalayas and East Africa.
Plantlife Nature Reserves
Plantlife own 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 , WorcestershireThe 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 concentrated on
vascular plant s but was extended to coverlower plant s andfungi . 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. Since 2008 the programme has gradually expanded to include a much larger list of species, this is in response to the publication of both the UK Red List and UK Biodiversity Action Plan. In order to effectively deliver conservation of an ever expanding list of rare species the work will be directed at habitats, where it is hoped that suites of species will respond.The Plantlife County Flowers competition
In 2002 Plantlife ran a competition to select
county flower s for all counties of the UK. The list was declared in 2004. A campaign led by theEastern Daily Press changed the selection for Norfolk. A list of the flowers chosen can be found atList of county flowers of the United Kingdom .Important Plant Areas
Plantlife has developed the concept of
Important Plant Area s, 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'sImportant Fungus Areas .External links
* [http://www.plantlife.org.uk Plantlife website]
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