Hay Time Rescue - Project Summary

11th February 2020

Melancholy thistle at Bell Sykes Farm (Forest of Bowland National Landscape)Delivered by Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust in partnership with Forest of Bowland National Landscape, this 14-month project engaged local volunteers and Kew Millennium Seed Bank to propagate and "foster" sustainably collected seed into plug plants.

The four key species were bird's-eye primrose Primula farinosa, globe flower Trolllius europaeus, melancholy thistle Cirsium heterophyllum and saw-wort Serratula tinctoria.

These species were once widespread in our meadows, road verges or stream and river banks, but have now declined into scattered, isolated populations around the area. In particular bird's eye primrose is listed as a nationally scarce species, is a Lancashire BAP target species and in 2012 cited as decreasing globally on the IUCN Red List.

Using data provided by the Lancashire Environmental Records Network (LERN) team, surveying and soil testing potential sites, suitable locations for seed collection and re-establishing populations were found.

Kew Millennium Seed Bank at Wakehurst Place in Sussex was commissioned to produce approximately 1000 plug plants from locally sourced seed of the four key species for the project.

The work focused mainly in the species rich hay meadows and pastures in the area, but also included some special verges. Engaging volunteers, landowners, community groups and Kew Millennium Seed Bank to grow local, sustainably sourced seed into plug plants, the project has successfully re-introduced 1100 plug plants of three scarce plant species at eight different sites across the National Landscape.

Bird's-eye primrose (J Hickling)The field scale hay meadow restoration work carried out through the Hay Time project continued, with 13 ha of meadows having restoration or enhancement work over the summer and autumn of 2019.

The project has worked successfully with land owners, community groups and with schools. Over the course of the project our public events attracted over 80 people, sharing seed collection and propagation knowledge with landowners, both within and outside Forest of Bowland National Landscape, and educating local school children on the importance of wild flowers.

We visited the fascinating seed bank at Kew MSB and discovered the journey our seed took through the various drying, testing and propagating processes.

We also worked with an entomologist to find a rare fly species Chiastocheta, which rely on globe flower for the adult portion of their life cycle.

Saw-wort (YDMT)Hay Time Rescue was a project funded jointly by Lancashire Environmental Fund, Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust and Forest of Bowland National Landscape. The full report is available here.

Hay Time will be continuing in 2020 with further field scale restoration, and more rare plug plants to place this spring.

For further information contact Carol Edmondson 01200 448000, or email carol.edmondson@lancashire.gov.uk.


Feast Bowland 2024

- 8th August 2024

Bowland Life through a Lens

- 1st August 2024

Bowland Dark Skies Festival 2024

- 21st December 2023

Traditional Boundaries Training

- 21st November 2023

All-Terrain Wheelchair Demo Day

- 20th September 2023

Tramper Taster Day

- 22nd August 2023

Pendle Peat & Pie Challenge

- 26th April 2023

New Bowland Visitor Guide

- 20th February 2023

The Festival Continues!

- 10th October 2022

Hay Time Gets Creative!

- 3rd August 2022

REBELLION IN THE FOREST

- 20th July 2022

Langden Intake Gravel

- 1st July 2022

Meadow Art Workshops

- 23rd May 2022

Discovering Wonderful Waxcaps

- 9th September 2021

Tramper Taster Day

- 8th September 2021

Visiting Bowland

- 14th June 2021

Name that Bee!

- 13th April 2021

Meadow Makers Project

- 8th April 2021

Festival Bowland 2021 is here!

- 6th January 2021

COVID-19 Update

- 5th January 2021

Covid-19 Update

- 31st December 2020

Green Recovery Challenge Fund

- 10th December 2020

Bringing Home the Turf

- 7th December 2020

Let's Support Local This Christmas

- 26th November 2020

Photo Competition Winners

- 18th November 2020

COVID-19 Update 05.11.2020

- 5th November 2020

Best of Bowland Photo Competition

- 12th October 2020

New Discover Bowland website

- 29th September 2020

Ginkgo Prize for Ecopoety

- 26th August 2020

Festival Events Go Virtual

- 10th August 2020

Days to Remember

- 31st July 2020

Coronavirus Update

- 6th June 2020

COVID-19 Update

- 20th March 2020

Hay Time Rescue - Project Summary

- 11th February 2020

Bowland Dark Skies Festival

- 6th January 2020

What is Bowland Without its Trees?

- 3rd September 2019

Postcards for Kindness

- 4th July 2019

Meadows to Morris Dancing

- 10th June 2019

Tramper Taster Day

- 15th May 2019

Half a Kilometre of Hedge

- 24th January 2019

Wildflower meadow rescue mission

- 17th October 2018

Traditional Boundaries Training

- 20th September 2018

National Landscape Family's Week

- 13th September 2018

Bowland Heads Back to the Stone Age

- 12th September 2018

Bowland by Night

- 3rd September 2018

Meadow Magic

- 18th June 2018

June is Blooming!

- 15th May 2018

Bowland Wader Project Newsletter

- 22nd February 2018

Outstanding Week 2017

- 5th September 2017

Festival Bowland Fun in Autumn

- 22nd August 2017

Summer in Bowland

- 26th June 2017

Winter Hedge Laying Workshops

- 29th November 2016