Nature Recovery in Cornwall

Photo exhibition looking at the National Trust’s nature conservation and restoration projects in Cornwall.  

On a single day in summer, one acre of wildflower meadow can contain 3 million flowers, producing 1 kg of nectar sugar. That’s enough to support nearly 96,000 honeybees per day.’

97% of species-rich grassland has been lost in the UK since the 1930s, with the remaining 3% mostly fragmented across the country, leaving little room for wildlife to spread.

As well as this loss of habitat, climate change is further compounding issues for native species, causing more extreme weather events and shifting seasons.

The National Trust alongside partners across the county, are engaged in projects to tackle these issues. This exhibition offers a glimpse at just two ongoing schemes currently running in Cornwall.

The Cornish Meadows Project will create 250 hectares of species-rich grassland at sites across the county in a bid to boost rare and threatened coastal wildlife, such as solitary bees, skylarks, swifts and common lizards.

The Lizard Rarities Project is focussed on the recovery of rare species through the conservation of vital microhabitats found on the cliffs, coastal grasslands, and heathlands, such as bare rocks and shallow pools. In these often-overlooked places, creating the right conditions for tiny lichens, liverworts, and the smallest flowering plants, can be key to the ongoing survival of the whole landscape.

As Europe’s largest conservation charity, the National Trust looks after nature, beauty and history for everyone to enjoy. Thanks to projects like these the charity looks after the nation’s coastline, historic sites, countryside and green spaces, for the everyone. Nature and the historic environment are under threat. They’re essential to everyone, they enrich people’s lives and are part of the fabric of society and they urgently need more care.