Tehidy Meadow - "genuinely species-rich and in excellent condition"

Cormac's management of two fields in the North Cliffs area of Tehidy Country Park has been commended as ecological surveys record their special ecological status.

The fields have been part of the 'Meadow Match' initiative that has received funding from the Cornwall National Landscape. Meadow Match | Let's Talk Cornwall

Based on surveys carried out by Dr. Colin French in 2024, and earlier it has been confirmed that the site is species rich and in excellent condition, containing at least six red data book species and no negative indicator species. The fields are managed organically, and have sustained arable-conversion grassland since the mid-1990s.

Cormac manages the fields with a late season cutting regime for Cornwall Council, and has used seed arising from the assembled to successfully integrate meadow flowers in other grassland sites across the county. Meadow Match is a dating agency for meadows, and has helped spread the seed from Tehidy even further. Perhaps one reason for the robustness of the Tehidy seed is the exposure of the site to coastal conditions, whilst another reason for diversity is its history as a heathland prior to being broken for arable cropping c. 200-150 years ago.

Species of note include Erica cinerea, the Cornish Bell Heather and two types of bramble that are extremely rare on a global scale; Rubus daveyi (Davey's bramble) and Rubus vigursii (Vigur's bramble), as well as the surprise find of wild strawberry, a plant that more typically favours shaded spots in the lee of hedges.