Below are some links to places where you can find out more about grasslands, grassland plants and animals, and grassland conservation. Over time we’ll add to this, so send on any suggestions you might have to make the list better (grasslands@housing.gov.ie).
The NPWS grasslands page is a useful place to find:
- reports from national grassland surveys
- access to an online map viewer showing semi-natural grasslands across Ireland (note that most of these are in private ownership and not publicly accessible)
- links to a series of educational videos all about identifying grasses and grasslands (be warned – they are excellent, but they are long!)
- links to talks given by the NPWS Grassland Ecologist all about semi-natural grasslands
The BSBI ‘Irish Grasslands Project’ page, where you will find:
- a range of tutorial videos covering the identification of various groups of grassland plants (e.g. meadow grasses and fragrant orchids)
- handy downloadable leaflets about four of our rarest grassland types, which are listed on the EU Habitats Directive
- and a range of links to other useful grassland-related items
There is an absolute wealth of resources to be had on the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan website, and here are just some of them:
- valuable information on why using ‘wildflower’ seed isn’t always a good idea
- a blog post on ‘The extraordinary value of existing semi-natural grasslands’
- some images showing what a meadow should look like
- and there’s so much more… so we recommend you go explore this website thoroughly!
The ‘Farming for Nature’ website:
- another Irish site with a great amount of information available – check out their farmer videos, join in their ‘Ask a farmer’ sessions, join a farm walk, or download resources.
The ‘Glens Great Grassland Trail’ in Northern Ireland:
- we absolutely love the ‘Glens Great Grassland Trail’ in Northern Ireland – download the booklet.
Great Irish Grasslands YouTube Playlist:
We have put grassland habitats and grass identification videos on this YouTube playlist. Much of this content was created for the BSBI Irish Grasslands Project.
In Britain, the Floodplain Meadows Partnership have an excellent website – so if you are interested in learning more about grasslands that flood, or ‘callows’ as we often call them in Ireland, take a look, and perhaps download their comprehensive handbook.
Also covering the UK, Plantlife run an effective campaign to try to raise awareness about grasslands and their conservation. They have excellent booklets and other resources.
The ‘Save our Magnificent Meadows’ website is worth a look, and they have advice and guidance documents you can download.