JULY is the peak of summertime glory. Warm summer days are punctuated by the hum of insects; our butterflies and moths fluttering their way through our grassy green spaces and bees buzzing in search of nectar. Birds dance their way through gloriously blue skies, and many of our mammals emerge to bask in the summer sun.

Yorkshire’s meadows and grasslands come alive in summer too. Orchids burst into being in a riot of sculptural colour, bellflowers, plantain and field scabious turn their faces to the skies, and globeflowers spread out across fields in a sunny spectacle. Hoards of butterflies and moths flutter in amongst the stems, as skylarks sing their hearts out overhead.

Rich in variety, grassland meadows, hay meadows and floodplain meadows have unique wildlife that relies upon subtly different habitat to survive. The recent State of Yorkshire’s Nature report also found that meadows formed on limestone and wetland landscapes are key wildlife habitats in Yorkshire. These protect our most important Yorkshire Stronghold Species, those found in few or no other place, and give a home to many Species of Conservation Concern.