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| Heritage Lottery money helps Cumbria's threatened hay meadows | Heritage Lottery money helps Cumbria's threatened hay meadows |
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| The fame of Cumbria's fells may overshadow another interesting feature of the beautiful county: it has almost a third of England's upland hay meadows. | The fame of Cumbria's fells may overshadow another interesting feature of the beautiful county: it has almost a third of England's upland hay meadows. |
| These are havens for a remarkable number of wild flowers, even though they are man-made, like so much of our small island's 'wild' landscape. | These are havens for a remarkable number of wild flowers, even though they are man-made, like so much of our small island's 'wild' landscape. |
| By recreating the glades which once existed in dense forest cover, they provide home for up to 120 flowering species, among them the devil's-bit scabious, globeflower, great burnet, lady's-mantle, oxeye daisy, pignut and wood crane's-bill. Beside these grow grasses including cock's-foot, crested dog's-tail, meadow fescue and sweet vernal-grass and among them all stride birds such as the curlew, lapwing, snipe and twite. | By recreating the glades which once existed in dense forest cover, they provide home for up to 120 flowering species, among them the devil's-bit scabious, globeflower, great burnet, lady's-mantle, oxeye daisy, pignut and wood crane's-bill. Beside these grow grasses including cock's-foot, crested dog's-tail, meadow fescue and sweet vernal-grass and among them all stride birds such as the curlew, lapwing, snipe and twite. |
| Such roll-calls stir the heart of anyone, and today's news from the Heritage Lottery Fund will go down well, especially at a time when there are serious concerns about the coming review of Natural England, the main custodian of the country's landscape. There are influential people, especially in the shooting world, who would like to see the group's power and resources curtailed. | Such roll-calls stir the heart of anyone, and today's news from the Heritage Lottery Fund will go down well, especially at a time when there are serious concerns about the coming review of Natural England, the main custodian of the country's landscape. There are influential people, especially in the shooting world, who would like to see the group's power and resources curtailed. |
| The HLF is giving some £1.3 million to two upland projects in Cumbria, one of them the county's Hay Meadows Project which plans to use the money to restore 65 hectares of meadowland, and train staff and volunteers to monitor the health of the county's whole estate of this kind of habitat. It is not a vast area but then neither is the UK's total of upland meadow; England has an estimated 1000 hectares and Scotland, the land of heather and thistle, only around 100. | The HLF is giving some £1.3 million to two upland projects in Cumbria, one of them the county's Hay Meadows Project which plans to use the money to restore 65 hectares of meadowland, and train staff and volunteers to monitor the health of the county's whole estate of this kind of habitat. It is not a vast area but then neither is the UK's total of upland meadow; England has an estimated 1000 hectares and Scotland, the land of heather and thistle, only around 100. |
| They date back more than 2000 years but have suffered dramatic attrition in the last half-century through ever more intensive farming and land management. Surveys have found that fewer than five percent of those in the Yorkshire Dales can still be described as 'herb rich' and the Peak District lost three quarters of those recorded in the 1980s by the end of the following decade. | They date back more than 2000 years but have suffered dramatic attrition in the last half-century through ever more intensive farming and land management. Surveys have found that fewer than five percent of those in the Yorkshire Dales can still be described as 'herb rich' and the Peak District lost three quarters of those recorded in the 1980s by the end of the following decade. |
| The Cumbrian project will be led by the county's Biodiversity Partnership, working with landowners, farmers and inmates from Haverigg prison. The latter will get involved with 60 volunteers in training on sustainable meadow management. Apart from learning new skills, the programme will bring the chance of landscape qualifications and help with pre-release rehabilitation. Graham Jackson-Pitt, manager of the Cumbria Biodiversity Project, says: | The Cumbrian project will be led by the county's Biodiversity Partnership, working with landowners, farmers and inmates from Haverigg prison. The latter will get involved with 60 volunteers in training on sustainable meadow management. Apart from learning new skills, the programme will bring the chance of landscape qualifications and help with pre-release rehabilitation. Graham Jackson-Pitt, manager of the Cumbria Biodiversity Project, says: |
| The grant will not only kick start a programme of hay meadow restoration and volunteer surveys, but also provide new opportunities to learn about and participate in hay meadow conservation. These meadows are biodiversity gems that are part of the farming landscape of Cumbria. They are becoming increasingly rare and we can't afford to lose them. | The grant will not only kick start a programme of hay meadow restoration and volunteer surveys, but also provide new opportunities to learn about and participate in hay meadow conservation. These meadows are biodiversity gems that are part of the farming landscape of Cumbria. They are becoming increasingly rare and we can't afford to lose them. |
| The meadows are getting £429,600 while the upland Heron Corn Mill on the river Bela at Beetham gets £939,100 for repairs and restoration of a largely 18th century building with origins in mediaeval times. The HLF has given £72 million to Cumbria since its inception in 1994. | The meadows are getting £429,600 while the upland Heron Corn Mill on the river Bela at Beetham gets £939,100 for repairs and restoration of a largely 18th century building with origins in mediaeval times. The HLF has given £72 million to Cumbria since its inception in 1994. |
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