Norfolk Wildlife Trust has recently acquired a rather exceptional addition to its Breckland nature reserves, one containing arable weeds! Just one hundred years ago, arable fields in the UK would have contained an array of plant species, and prior to the late summer harvest, all arable land would have been full of vibrant and colourful wildflowers. Of course modern farming, understandably, has almost eradicated these unwanted weeds. As a result, there has been a massive decline in many of the plant species that once grew alongside our wheat and barley, with some being threatened by nationwide extinction.       

Our new Arable Plant Reserve, which sits close by NWT Weeting Heath, has been managed for rare and threatened wildflowers since 1970. This now forms an oasis of plants that would have formerly been widespread and numerous. This diversity of nectar rich species supports an array of insects, with arable wildflower seeds being essential for birds such as corn bunting and turtle dove, both of which are on the verge of local extinction in Norfolk.  

Fortunately, due to the foresight and dedication of a few individuals, these important plants have been saved for future generations. The Arable Plant Reserve at Weeting Heath was originally created 52 years ago on land owned by the Parrott family. It was established when Cambridge University student, Anne Jones, approached Christopher Cadbury, a man known for his passion for Norfolk wildlife and the protection of it. Anne’s aspiration was to create a habitat in the Norfolk Brecks that could accommodate these rare and rapidly disappearing arable weed species. Christopher Cadbury approached the Parrott family who farmed at Weeting, and Norman Parrott began work to cultivate ten acres of his land to create the Arable Plant Reserve we see today. The management of this fantastic site was continued by Norman’s son, Richard, all at his own expense. Richard has now passed on the baton to Norfolk Wildlife Trust to conserve and cherish this unique reserve, and one inspiring student’s dream. 

Seeds from this, and other Breckland sites, are now providing stock for an important biological insurance policy. With two in five plant species at risk of global extinction, Kew Botanical Gardens initiated the Millennium Seed Bank Project. The seeds of plants which are threatened in the wild by climate change or development, or are related to plants we eat, are collected and stored. The seeds are dried and frozen, so that they can be germinated and reintroduced back into the wild if and when necessary. 

Volunteers from the Breckland Flora Group (BFG) have been busy collecting seeds at other Norfolk Wildlife Trust reserves such as Weeting Heath and Cranwich Heath. Anna Saltmarsh, Plantlife volunteer and member of the BFG explained: 'Many of Breckland’s specialist plant species, such as Spanish catchfly, are highly restricted in their national distribution and are found here at the north-western limit of their global range.  It is often only through the attentive protection of unique habitats by organisations like the Norfolk Wildlife Trust that populations of these species continue to survive in the UK, particularly considering the rapid landscape scale environmental changes we have suffered.’ Anna continued: ‘By collecting living seeds for storage in the Millennium Seed Bank we are generating a back-up of the genetic diversity within these populations including any adaptations to the local conditions.  The seeds will be stored to maximise their longevity, and will be available from the bank as and when the need may arise – for purposes of research, education or restoration.' 

James Symonds, Warden at nearby NWT Weeting Heath stated, ‘Stepping onto the Arable Plant Reserve, it is immediately clear how special it is from the sheer abundance of flowers amongst the crop, but to really understand the pedigree of this site one needs to look at the rarities it holds and the abundance of these species. There are probably too many to mention, but a good example is the fingered speedwell Veronica triphyllos, it has beautiful deep blue flowers and distinctly lobed leaves, but it is so rare, this one field probably contains 99 per cent of the British population.’                         

The neighbouring NWT Weeting Heath reserve provides a sanctuary for stone curlew, a nationally rare and iconic part of Norfolk’s farmland wildlife; and they prove a draw for hundreds of visitors to our Weeting Heath Visitors’ Centre each summer. The birds’ celebrity status has afforded it some level of attention and protection, and numbers are continuing to increase.  Just as important, and no less deserving of protection, are the unobtrusive and less alluring ‘weeds’ that grow nearby. For this small, and easily over-looked NWT reserve, is providing a nationally important ark for a number of wildflowers that have all but disappeared from the UK’s farmed landscape.