Hay meadows – equivalent to 23 football pitches – have been restored across the Lake District.
The joint project by Lake District National Park Authority and Cumbria Wildlife Trust has seen 16 hectares of hay meadows restored, supported through BMW UK’s Recharge in Nature project in a partnership secured by National Parks Partnership, the project helped enhance biodiversity on farmland across the National Park.
Between June and September, teams worked closely with farmers at Collinfield, Loweswater, Embleton and in the Newlands Valley to identify sites appropriate for restoration, before sowing native wildflower seeds from nearby donor sites or introducing locally propagated plants.
Claire Foster, farming officer for the Lake District National Park Authority, said: “In years to come these meadows will be more diverse environments supporting a variety of flora and fauna whilst playing an important role in livestock farming in the Lake District.
“Cumbria Wildlife Trust have been a key partner in the delivery of this work, which wouldn’t have been possible without funding from BMW’s Recharge in Nature project.”
Tanya St Pierre, grassland and pollinator team leader at Cumbria Wildlife Trust, said: “We are incredibly grateful to the Lake District National Park Authority and the ‘BMW Recharge in Nature’ Project funding which has made this restoration work possible.
“This project builds on the concerted efforts of farmers, landowners, conservation organisations, the Lake District National Park Authority, Natural England and many others that want to ensure a brighter future for farming and nature in the Lake District.
“Our ambition is to deliver more grasslands restoration work across Cumbria in years to come.”
Teams worked closely with farmers to increase the coverage of species-rich grassland and recognise the traditional farming methods which have shaped the Lake District’s unique landscape.
Sandi Friend-Thornton, who farms at Crosthwaite, had native wildflower seed sown across 3.2 acres of land through the Recharge in Nature project. She explained she was interested in taking part to increase biodiversity on the farm by enhancing traditional hay meadow habitat.
She said: “We want to leave the soil in a healthier state. We’re trying to improve soil health so traditional farming practices can benefit from the species-rich environment the hay meadow will create.
She explained that in the future, more hay meadows could be restored across the Lake District thanks to the work of this project in increasing suitable donor habitat. Sandi said: “In a few years, if the restoration is successful, we could be a donor field and pass on the seed to another field.”
Entering its third year, the Recharge in Nature partnership between BMW UK and national parks has seen 81 new electric vehicle charge points installed across the Lake District, Peak District, Yorkshire Dales, North York Moors, Dartmoor, and Bannau Brycheiniog national parks over the last two years, with more to come later this year.
