Grasslands
 Many grasslands in the central part of the Blackwater Valley have escaped agricultural "improvements" of draining, ploughing or pesticide sprays. These traditional grasslands can support a wide range of invertebrates as well as rich plant communities. Such is their present day scarcity all such meadows are important for conservation.
Flowers
At the southern end of the Valley small areas of dry chalk grassland do occur, but the vast majority of the Valley’s grasslands are riverside meadows.  Typical flowers found in these meadows include:
- Knapweed
- Yarrow
- Sneezewort
- Lesser Stitchwort
- Ox-eye Daisy
- Amphibious Bistort
- Common and Marsh Bird-foot Trefoil
Scarcer plants that can be found include:
- Bee Orchid
- Meadow Spotted Orchid
- Devils-bit Scabious
- Great Burnet
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Invertebrates
 The flower-rich meadows and pastures support a wide range of invertebrates. For example:
- Spiders
- Butterflies (eg Meadow Brown, Small Large & Essex Skippers, Ringlet, Common Blue)
- Grasshoppers (eg Lesser Marsh Grasshopper, Long-winged Conehead, Roesel's Bushcricket)
- Hoverflies
- Bees
- Beetles (eg Cockchafer, Rose Chafer, Dung Beetle)
- Moths (Cinnabar, Five-spot Burnet)
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Birds & mammals
The grassland invertebrates in their turn support many birds and mammals. Mice, voles and shrews are still common and are preyed upon by Kestrels and the occasional owl.
Green Woodpeckers can often be seen feeding at ants’ nests.
In winter flocks of Meadow Pipits gather, whilst in the wetter marshy fields Snipe and Mallard can be seen.
At quieter times Roe Deer will venture into the fields to feed.
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