Make your commitment to helping nature thrive in 2024. Donate today and help sow seeds of change for nature's future
British Airways are funding the planting of 9,000 trees at Wing Wood, a new woodland in Buckinghamshire.
This vast site will provide a valuable habitat for wildlife, green spaces for local people, and a sustainable source of timber. There will be new wildlife ponds as well as ‘wet’ woodland to support species including Great Crested Newts. A community orchard will be created, as well as accessible paths for walking.
A gift of £10 will buy, plant and maintain 1 square metre of meadow.
To increase biodiversity, Forestry England would like to establish wildflower meadows within this site. British Airways has generously pledged to kick-start this project, and now we need your help to grow this meadow to its full potential. Will you be part of this amazing project?
You can even donate 1 square metre of wildflower meadow on behalf of a friend or family member. As a thank you, we'll email a gift certificate.
Did you know that 97% of wildflower meadows have been lost since WW2?
It's heartbreaking to lose such a critical part of the British landscape. When wildflower meadows disappear so do pollinators, as well as other insects, and animals that depend on insect life such as birds, hedgehogs and bats.
The area is currently planted with low-maintenance grass seed, and, biodiversity here is limited. By planting a wide variety of wildflower plug plants, instead of using seeds, we can establish the wildflower meadow, within 12-18 months, helping to attract bees, butterflies, moths and birds, creating a rich diverse environment.
We hope to start planting the first section of wildflower meadow in March/April 2024, in the area shown on the map below. It is just over 0.62 of a hectare, and is right next to a public footpath so you can visit this meadow for yourself.
Creating the wildflower meadow
Sourcing the right plants for the meadow will be critical. Yellow rattle is a flower that increase the chances of establishing and maintaining flower-rich grassland. Yellow rattle is expensive but so important when creating a new wildflower meadow. We will also plant Birdsfoot Trefoil, Bellflowers, Columbine, Knapweed, Mallow, Sorrel, Toadflax and more to create a diverse home so nature to thrive.
This perennial meadow will need mowing just once a year and is much easier to establish and maintain than planting an annual meadow.
Without this project, the area would take decades to establish into a rich, diverse habitat.
If Forestry England raises enough money, there are three additional areas close by where other wildflower meadows can be created.
The more diversity we have in our natural habitats, then the more wildlife there will be. The more money we raise, the more habitat we can create.
Donate today and help sow seeds of change for nature's future. Thank you.