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 鈥楥ae Ysbyty鈥� or 鈥楬ospital Field鈥� 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 , and East Park Link Road.

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