Day 1: 13th October 2021
16.30 - 17.10: Session Chair Emma Rothero
17.10 - 17.40:
- A series of virtual site visits
Questions for speakers
Short break
17.45 - 18.30:
- Floodplain Meadow Question Time Session 1 - submit your questions for our panel to answer live.
Panel members Session Chair Emma Rothero
- David Gowing, Professor of Botany, The Open University
- Matt Johnson. Conservation Operations Manager (Northants) The Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire & Northamptonshire
- Andy Rumming Floodplain meadow farmer, Wiltshire
- Clare Hill. Director of Regenerative Agriculture, FAI Farms, Oxfordshire
Day 2: 14th October 2021: Soils - carbon, water and restoration
Soils, carbon, water and restoration Session Chair Sue Dancey
9.30 - 10.20:
- Soils of floodplains Professor David Gowing (Open University)
- Soil carbon storage in floodplain meadows and Ecover ‘Fertilise the Future’ Dr Clare Lawson (Lecturer in Ecology, Open University).
- Microbes in the underworld and their function within floodplains. Dr Simon Jeffrey, (Reader in Soil Ecology, Harper Adams University).
Questions for speakers and discussion
Short break
10.30 - 11.20:
- Plant diversity positively affects short-term soil carbon storage in experimental grasslands. Dr Markus Lange. (The Jena Experiment, University of Jena, Germany)
- Floodplain meadow restoration across National Trust owned land and National Trust policy on soil carbon. Steve Beal (Nature Conservation Adviser, South West), Simon Barker (Nature Conservation Adviser, Midlands), Dr Stewart Clarke (National Freshwater Specialist) and Felicity Roos (National Soils Specialist). All National Trust.
Questions for speakers and discussion
Short break
11.30 - 12.20:
- Soil carbon storage across UK habitats with a focus on grasslands. Penny Anderson.
- Soil and farmland carbon code. Jenny Phelps (Senior Farm Environment Adviser & Glos Team Leader, FWAG)
- Evaluating effects of land use and management on soil properties for NFM in the Thames area. Professor Jo Clark (University of Reading).
Questions for speakers and discussion
Session end: 12.30
Floodplain meadow restoration – case studies and opportunities
Click here to join the meeting Day 2, early evening session
17.00 - 17.40: Session Chair Gethin Davies
- Delivering restoration at a landscape scale in the Thames Valley. Catriona Bass and Kevan Martin, Thames Valley Wildflower Meadow Restoration Project and co-owners of Long Mead Local Wildlife Site
- Running a Farmer Facilitation Group in the Severn Vale with a focus on floodplain meadows. Sarah Wells (Senior Farm Environment Adviser, FWAG-SW)
- Floodplain meadow restoration and management at FAI Farms on the Thames in Oxfordshire. Clare Hill (Director of Regenerative Agriculture, FAI Farms)
Questions for speakers and discussion
Short break
17.50 - 18.30:
- Future Environmental Land Management Schemes. Ellen Brown (Head of Policy - Local Nature Recovery, Defra)
- Resilient Floodplains Gwent: Mapping floodplain creation and restoration opportunities in South-East Wales. Caroline O’Rourke, Senior Ecologist at BSG Ecology (and Floodplain Meadows Partnership Ambassador).
- Getting back the lost hay meadows - a three-year study into floodplain meadow restoration activity in the UK. Dr Irina Tatarenko (Research Manager Floodplain Meadows Partnership, Open University)
Questions for speakers and discussion
18.30 - 19.15:
Floodplain Meadow Question Time, Session 2 - submit your questions for our panel to answer live.
Panel members Session Chair Stewart Clarke
- David Gowing, Professor of Botany, The Open University
- Matt Johnson. Conservation Operations Manager (Northants) The Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire & Northamptonshire
- Andy Rumming Floodplain meadow farmer, Wiltshire
- Clare Hill. Director of Regenerative Agriculture, FAI Farms, Oxfordshire
Day 3: 15th October 2021: Floodplain meadow history, restoration strategy and meadow art
An exploration of the history of floodplain meadows
9.30 - 11.00: Session Chair Katey Stephen
- An assessment of the extent of floodplain meadow historically using two areas to trial a method: Dr Anthony Firth and Emma Firth (Fjordr)
- An historic investigation into landuse in the River Rother floodplain. Dr Alastair Pearson (GIS Analyst, South East Rivers Trust)
- Historic floodplain meadow extent on the rivers Swale, Ure and Ouse. Martin Hammond (Ecologist, North Yorkshire County Council)
- Place-names, maps, letters and local knowledge in a South Yorkshire floodplain. Professor John Rodwell
Discussion of practitioner and community needs.
Half hour break
Mechanisms for facilitating restoration
11.30 - 12.10: Session Chair Ann Skinner
- The Environment Agency and Natural Flood Management. Jon Hollis (Intergrated Outcomes Manager, Environment Agency)
- Rivers Trusts Biodiversity Datahub. Lucy Butler (GIS Manager, The Rivers Trusts) and Glen Cooper (Natural England)
- Nature Recovery Network and floodplain meadows. James Lock NRN Delivery Partnership Lead Adviser, Natural England)
Questions for speakers and discussion
Community art and FMP arts and craft competition - announcement of winners.
13.30 - 14.30: Session Chair David Gowing
- A community arts project at Avon Meadows, Worcestershire. Clare Purcell (Executive Director, Meadow Arts).
Questions for speakers
- FMP arts and crafts competition - finalists showcased, and winners announced. Olivia Nelson (Advocacy Officer, Open University)
14.30: Conference close
Emma Rothero (FMP Project Manager)
