Come celebrate meadows with us

On Saturday 2 July, like many people across the UK, we will come together to celebrate National Meadows Day.

The first ever national Meadows Day was held last year and a range of events took place across the UK. This year looks as if it will be an even bigger event and that's certainly the case at Loch of Strathbeg where we would love people to join us for our Meadows Celebration.

We are planning a day of fun and discovery, as part of our participation in the Save Our Magnificent Meadows project, and there will be plenty of activities for folk of all ages.

You can see what's in the meadow, get hand on with arts and crafts or by pond-dipping or planting wildflowers. You can show your skills in our open mic sessions or just enjoy the organised  performances and poetry recitals. There will be a bumblebee safari and a meadows guided walk and we'll have volunteers on hand to point out birds. You can also discover the winners of our Doric Meadows Poetry Competition.

The Buchan Ranger Service, NE Scotland Biodiversity Partnership, Bumblebee Conservation Trust and local RSPB Wildlife Explorers are all coming along, and we'd love it if you came too.

Times and other important info

The Meadows Celebration will take place from 12-5 pm on Saturday 2 July. The visitor centre car parking is reserved for visitors with restricted mobility only. There will be in-field parking for some cars and a shuttle bus will run every hour from Crimond to the nature reserve. For more information call 01346 532017 or visit rspb.org.uk/lochofstrathbeg.

Photo of lesser butterfly orchid taken by Derren Fox at Loch of Strathbeg, where numbers of this rare plant  have increased during the Save our Magnificent Meadows project.

What is Save our Magnificent Meadows all about?

Save Our Magnificent Meadows is the UK’s largest partnership project transforming the fortunes of vanishing wildflower meadows, grasslands and wildlife. Led by Plantlife, the partnership is made up of 11 organisations including RSPB Scotland, and is primarily funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

97% of UK wildflower meadows have been lost since the second world war and many of those remaining are damaged or degraded. Meadows and species-rich grasslands can provide homes for a huge range of wildlife including wildflowers, fungi, bees, flies, beetles, spiders, moths, butterflies, reptiles, amphibians, small mammals, bats and birds.

Save Our Magnificent Meadows is: