World

The survey is using the same methods as Darwin – basically wandering through and doing a grand sweep – alongside modern botanical techniques.
All the flowering plants will be collected over a one-year period as part of a wider programme of activities to train wildlife and conservation enthusiasts.
“These meadows are incredibly valuable to our understanding of the natural world,” said Johannes Vogel, keeper of botany at the Natural History Museum.
“The survey provides a rare insight into changes over the course of 150 years and will help us conserve these historically important meadows.”
Charles Darwin lived at Down House from 1842 to 1882. It is now a museum managed by English Heritage and a proposed World Heritage Site.