Meadow Makers was a project initially funded via the National Lottery Heritage Fund and led by PlantLife and later led by Cumbria Wildlife Trust via a Farming in Protected Landscape programme grant. Within the Arnside & Silverdale National Landscape 11 meadows and limestone grassland areas were enhanced across the area.
The Meadow Makers Project in the Arnside & Silverdale National Landscape
As part of the project we undertook activities such as:
- carrying out soil samples
- conducting baseline botanical surveys
- harvesting seed from ‘donor’ meadows (including using Lancashire Wildlife Trust’s vacuum harvester!)
- planting seed and plug plants in ‘receptor’ meadows
Maintaining healthy meadow habitats isn’t as simple as planting some seeds and leaving them to it – meadows need to be harvested at the right time of year and properly managed over a long period in order to flourish. We have also facilitated training sessions in traditional meadow management techniques – including a scything refresher course from Steve Tomlin.
We also celebrated National Meadows Day 2021 with a combination of a schools event with Arnside National School in Coldwell Meadows, a stall at Warton Crag quarry meadow for the general public and online activities including a wide range of colouring sheets. The Landscape Trust also organised a walk in Coldwell Horseshoe for National Meadows Day.
A healthy meadow habitat is a biodiverse one – so look out for lots of different species of plants and animals. Meadows should be noisy and full of life. Some of the meadow plants we are focusing on include yellow rattle and eyebright, which are semi-parasitic and therefore keep grass in check – giving other wildflowers the room to flourish. We’re hoping to see species such as bird’s foot trefoil, ribwort plantain, red clover and rough hawkbit making inroads into meadow habitats; these species will eventually be followed by popular plants such as orchids.