Online

Discovering a Uniquely Scottish Ecosystem – how we are sustaining the Oceanic Wet Grassland of the Outer Hebrides

Online – via Microsoft Teams

25th June 2025, 6:30pm to 8:00pm

Hosted by The Floodplain Meadows Partnership (The Open University)

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Each year, thousands of visitors are attracted to Scotland’s Outer Hebrides where a rich diversity of species are sustained by unique, beautiful Oceanic Wet Grasslands. For hundreds of years, flower-rich meadows have been an integral part of Scotland’s semi-natural landscape and rural economy. Today they are home to a diverse range of flora and fauna, and are often still at the heart of local communities, providing essential food for stock over winter.

 

They are beautiful places to walk and to explore nature. They provide a link to a traditional, rural landscape and have a critical role to play in the conservation of our natural and social heritage. However, these Oceanic Wet Grasslands are rare and threatened due to their dependence on a complex interaction of hydrology, nutrient availability, and vegetation management.

 

Working in consultation with NatureScot and The University of Edinburgh, the Floodplain Meadows Partnership is looking to protect, restore, and promote the sustainable use of Oceanic Wet Grassland systems to benefit people and nature.

 

Since 2019, the FMP has been revisiting meadow sites in the Outer Hebrides first recorded as species-rich more than 35 years ago. Many had never been studied in depth – until now. What we’re discovering is remarkable: these islands may hold as much Oceanic Wet Grassland as the rest of the UK combined. And yet, we’re only just beginning to understand the environmental forces that shape these extraordinary plant communities.

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Join us for a fascinating online talk where we’ll introduce you to the world of the Oceanic Wet Grasslands– what makes them so special, what threatens their survival, and how science and community action are coming together to protect them for future generations.

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Whether you're a nature enthusiast, a crofter, a walker, or just curious about the land beneath your feet – this talk is for you.

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Booking is essential via registration form found here.

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Free to attend

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Image (c) Hillary Wallace

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