Hay meadows have become a rare resource throughout the country due to commercial farming, yet they are invaluable for maintaining plant, insect and animal diversity. A lot of research has been done on the recovery of such meadows, which are now supported by a number of bodies as well as various agri-environment schemes. This article illustrates the positive experience and available advice from a local project. The Higher Level Stewardship scheme pays farmers practicing traditional hay meadow management up to £300 per hectare There are a number of projects and increasing experience around the country including in the uplands of the North East (where Dr Roger Smith of Newcastle University has done a lot of research), Haytime in the North Pennines and Yorkshire Dales, Hay-Day in Cumbria, the Peak District, and the lowlands of the Elan valley in Wales. Other organisations (for example: the RSPB) also give useful advice and can be contacted. For those wanting to look further, there is a lot on the internet. Some initial links are given:

• A step-by-step guide to upland hay meadow restoration in the North Pennines
• The initial article for the Cumbria Hay-Dayproject 2007-2001
• Advice for farmers from the RSPB

The Cumbria Hay-Day Project Worked With Me

The main areas for good quality upland and lowland hay meadows in Cumbria are Tebay, Orton, and Ravenstonedale with others in the Cumbrian fells and the Dales and around Bewcastle, Carlisle. Our farmland is in Orton and we were applying for the Entry and Higher Level Environment Stewardship Schemes in 2008. Some months earlier, I had been approached by Bunty Wright and Claire Cornish from Cumbria Wildlife Trust (CWT) about the restoration of some meadows with Hay-Day (Cumbria’s hay meadow project). My land is tenanted and in the past had been poorly managed, but had potential for restoration because no chemicals had been used. One of the fields had already been identified by CWT as a County Wildlife Site for Upland Hay Meadow. Such sites ‘are areas of land… recognised for containing rare or threatened habitats and species. They are considered to be of county, sometimes national importance’. The three other fields considered are in a group, totalling 7.32 ha, roughly 2.5 ha each, two square in shape, the other oblong. These fields needed the restoration to add wildflower species to the sward. A few months later in October, the farm was accepted into both Stewardship Schemes and the four hay meadows formed an important part of the Higher Level entry.

The Hay-Day project was established in 2007 and was to run for three years until 2010. It involves collecting good quality seed from a known quality donor site and spreading it as seed or green hay over the prepared recipient site. Simple? Perhaps. But the timing of collection and distribution of seed is paramount and no-one can legislate for the British weather!

The two square fields were the first to be restored by Hay-Day. Soil samples were taken and analysed for pH levels (5.5/5.6) and fertility (phosphorous needs to be low0-1). Sward preparation was to be slightly different in each field to assess the success of different methods. Seed was harvested from DR and C Galbraith at Grayrigg by contractors Open Space (Cumbria) Ltd who also undertook preparation of the recipient fields. Mr Steve Dunning of Raisgill Hall (who tenants the land) was also involved in preparation of the ground and rolling after the work was completed. The following year the first of the two fields proved to be an unqualified success. The second showed considerable improvement but did not match that of the first. The reasons are not clear, and may include differences in the preparation methods, the lie of the land, or the quality of the soils from past management practices.

In 2009 restoration work began in the third field. The same contractors were used, and this time seed was collected from JW and A Thwaites at Greenholme. The resulting sward contained a lot of yellow rattle which is essential for the restoration. This attractive plant derives its nutrients from a wide range of grasses, which diminishes their vigour and in turn allows other wild flower species to increase.

Correct onward management of the meadows is crucial. Natural England (who run the Stewardship Schemes) issue a strict calendar of works, written by Hay-Day, which include mowing and grazing schedules and the application or not of manure. Occasionally local variations can be written in to the schedule. It can take years to recreate the right sward density and diversity, and up to 14 years to lower soil fertility. Under Mr Steve Dunning’s management, the meadows are improving. One of the more exciting native species to appear is the Early Purple orchid – just a small group but flourishing against a wall. My modest acreage is varied and, being surrounded by commercial farms, is isolated. However, I am quietly proud of its diversity and the myriad of birds and insects it attracts.

I understand that Hay-Day has been further funded for 2011. This is good news. Biodiversity is not only pleasing but essential. Once lost, restoration can be protracted or almost impossible and our quality of life the poorer.

For management leaflets, newsletters and advice from the Hay-Day project, whether you are a farmer or smallholder, please call Claire Cornish on 01539 816300 or email her on clairec@cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk