The first stage of Coronation Meadows will launch at Highgrove House, The Prince’s home in Gloucestershire, today - Wednesday 5 June - with the announcement of the first 60 flagship meadows. Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust's Red Hill nature reserve will be announced as Lincolnshire's Coronation Meadow.

Coronation Meadows are outstanding examples of flower-rich grasslands, surviving fragments that support our wildlife and which are often the result of years of careful management by generations of one family. Many have an annual hay cut and are grazed by hardy, native breeds of livestock. Coronation Meadows reflect the local character of the landscape; Martins’ Meadow in Suffolk has green-winged orchids and meadow saffron, whilst Cae Blaen-dyffryn in Carmarthenshire has whorled caraway and thousands of lesser butterfly-orchids.

Over 80% of the 60 meadows identified can trace an undisturbed history beyond the Coronation; many are truly ancient, dating back hundreds of years. The oldest so far is Loughborough Big Meadow in Leicestershire which can be traced back to 1762. They range in size from Therfield Heath in Hertfordshire at over 400 acres (and home to the largest population of pasque flowers in Britain) to Hayton Meadow in Shropshire at just three quarters of an acre.

They are also home to quite astonishing displays of wild flowers – orchids, cowslips, buttercups and oxeye daisies in their thousands. The Prince’s famous wild flower meadow at Highgrove House has a special place in the project and has been named as The Royal Meadow, in addition to the 107 across the country.

Victoria Chester, Chief Executive of Plantlife explains - 'His Royal Highness has given us a challenge; to conserve species and yet to maintain their essential wildness. In an age where we too often turn to the quick-fix of commercial ‘nectar mixes’, Coronation Meadows is both a celebration and a pledge to our children and grandchildren, using the floral riches of the past to create meadow gems for the future. Restoring meadows is painstaking, long-term stuff – it is about our landscape history and our cultural heritage. Many of the meadows have local significance. For example, Welsh farms often had a Cae Ysbyty or “Hospital Field”, a flower-rich pasture where sick animals would recover from illness or injury faster than on conventional pasture. This project is so resonant because it reminds us just how spectacular and wildlife-rich our countryside can look – and the results can be simply breathtaking.'

Rob Havard, Managing Director of Rare Breeds Survival Trust tells us - ‘His Royal Highness, our Patron, is a passionate supporter of rare native breeds of livestock and there is a close relationship between our native breeds and wild flower meadows. The ancient meadows of this country were traditionally managed in order to produce feed for livestock to carry them over the course of a long winter. Over generations, this livestock evolved traits that suited the different climates, topography, minerals and flora found in the varied landscapes across the United Kingdom. These traits developed further with selective breeding into the wide variety of breeds that we see today. In a sense the meadows shaped the animals, as the animals shaped the meadows, and their shared history is part of our valuable rural culture.'