It took around 6,000 years to create the species-rich grassland for which the UK is globally famous. Yet in less than a century, we have lost 97%.
Join us for a delightful evening talk and drinks in support of Plantlife which, weather-permitting, will take place in the meadows.
The talk is between Tiffany Daneff of Country Life, artist and Erin Lait, the Studio Director for Hugo Rittson Thomas, and Plantlife’s specialist grassland advisor, Matt Pitts, who will be delving into the ecological significance of meadowlands, to educate and inspire.
At Thyme, our 45 acres of wild meadows are ever evolving, year on year, season on season. Through careful managing, haymaking, grazing and mowing we have seen the meadows thrive with orchids and buttercups, wild bees, butterflies and birds. In May, the natural symphony at dusk signals the beginnings of new life and there is an effervescent magic in the air.
Plantlife have the ambitious target to restore 120,000 hectares of meadow by 2030 through partnerships. As a patron, we are encouraging our friends and fellow landowners to pledge to become a Plantlife partner for meadow restoration.
Thyme is a proud Patron of Plantlife, the wild plant conservation charity, who is working to restore our fragmented meadowlands to their former glory. Grasslands lock up a third of the world’s land-based carbon and, the more species a grassland is home to, the more carbon it stores.
4.30-5pm arrival to the car park
5.15 - 6.30pm dusk talk in the meadows
7 - 8.30pm champagne reception, hosted by Laurent Perrier, in the Tithe Barn
Tickets are £35 and proceeds will go to Plantlife
The speakers
Erin Lait
Erin Lait, The Studio Director for Hugo Rittson Thomas celebrates and champions Hugo’s new book: Wildflowers for The Queen Published in partnership with conservation charity, PlantLife, the book portrays the magnificent beauty of meadowlands. Photographed over a year, Wildflowers for The Queen features 19 meadows (of which 14 are Coronation Meadows) in stunning locations and stately homes including Chatsworth, Blenheim Palace and Highclere Castle.
Erin has worked with architects, artists, chefs, publishers and gardeners on a wide range of public-facing projects. Her work for Hugo Rittson Thomas has invigorated her interests and skills in creating aesthetic and sensory story-telling spaces for inspiring conversations. This could be in the form of feasts such as her 2022 art-dining fundraising feast as part of The Serpentine Future Contemporaries Mystery Night. Erin is a The Guild of Food Writers mentee, Ambassador for Young People in The Arts (YPIA) and Director of deeep AI art fair.
Tiffany Daneff
Tiffany Daneff is Gardens Editor at Country Life magazine, the quintessential English magazine, is undoubtedly one of the biggest and instantly recognisable brands in the UK today. The magazine portrays architecture, property, the arts, gardens and gardening, the countryside, schools and wildlife.
She is a garden writer and was the launch editor of Telegraph Gardening.
Matt Pitts
Matt Pitts is Plantlife’s Meadows Adviser supporting a wide range of landowners up and down the UK. Matt is a third-generation farmer’s son. He spent his formative years working on mixed farms in Kent and Sussex. Matt's career in practical conservation started in his mid-twenties within the Kent County Countryside Management Service. Matt then worked for 15 years within the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Over the years Matt has advised both private and public landowners of all sizes. Matt joined Plantlife in 2019 and now advises and supports anyone interested in restoring, creating and managing wildflower meadows