Support a species: Wildflowers for wildlife

Common wildflowers provide habitat and food for a range of wildlife and are an excellent indicator of the health of our environment. They are however under threat from pollution and land management practices.

Forget Me Not flowers
Forget-me-not flowers

Wildflower facts

Some Welsh farms used to keep a wildflower-rich field called a ‘Cae Ysbyty’ or ‘Hospital Field’ where sick animals grazed to aid their recovery.
Over 20 species of orchid grow in wildflower meadows.

How you can help

  • Plant wildflower seeds in your garden, making sure that they are native, to provide local insects with plants they like best.
  • Leave an area of garden unmanaged and see what grows.

Threats to wildflowers

  • Wildflower habitats have shrunk by 97% in the UK since the 1930s.
  • This decrease in area dedicated to wildflowers is a result of an increase in agriculture and urban development.
  • The disappearance of wildflower meadows is also having a large impact on insect species and their predators such as birds, bats and hedgehogs.

Wildflowers on campus

Check out the University’s wildflower fields located at STEMLab, Holywell Park and East Park Link Road.

Take a walk around Burleigh Wood in spring to take in the carpets of bluebells.