Meadows and grasslands
Hay meadow timelines:
Making a meadow
The hay meadow year
Biodiversity is about more. More species of plants, insects, birds and animals. But sometimes to get more you need to put in less. To get lots of biodiversity in meadows and grasslands we help farmers do less to their fields.
Modern farming uses artificial fertiliser to increase the amount of grass that grows. The grass is harvested and used over winter to feed sheep and cows. But the grass grows so quickly and so high that other species like meadow flowers can't compete so the fields are just full of grass, which is bad for biodiversity.
We help farmers get grant money to increase biodiversity in their fields. Only using a little organic fertiliser like cow manure, means the grass still grows but not as quickly, so lots of other plants can grow too. Cutting the plants later in the year gives the plants time to set seed, meaning plants grow again next year.
Hay meadows with lots of different flowers in them are great habitats for insects, birds and other animals too. There are some plants which only grow in upland hay meadows in areas like the Yorkshire Dales, Northumberland and the Peak District.
Click on the thumbnail pictures below for details of hay meadow plants and animals
Click on the thumbnail pictures to learn more about meadow flowers.
Speedy seeding tractors
Harvesting the seed heads from a donor meadow.
© YDMT
In some meadows the flowers have been gone for so long that there aren't any seeds in the ground to grow into new plants. New seeds from other meadows might blow their way there in the wind but it could take some time. So we give the seeds a lift down the road, on a tractor.
Speedy tractors pick up bags of seed heads from donor meadows and trundle them to new fields, where the seeds are spread ready to flower the next year. The seed spreadering teams have about 1 hour to collect the seed heads and get them to new fields before they start to dry out and heat up in the sun, which could kill the precious seeds inside.
The Hay Time project has created 24 fields of new meadows, covering 53 ha across the Yorkshire Dales. The project is run jointly by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority and the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust charity.
Recipe for a new hay meadow
Within 1 hour of collection the seed heads are spread over a new receptor field.
© YDMT
Ingredients:
- A donor hay meadow full of flowering plants
- Big bags
- Speedy tractor and trailer
- Empty fields ready to become a meadow
- A bit of lime (the mineral not the fruit!)
How to make it:
- Collect seed heads in a big bag and put in trailer
- Before they dry out and start popping, speed down lane in tractor to the new field
- Spread seed heads so when they dry and split the seeds fall out all over the new field
- Visit next year from May to July to see all the new flowers and insects
How to keep in good condition:
- Cut the hay once a year, in late July after the seeds have re-set
- Allow cows and sheep to graze from autumn to spring
- Shut out the cows and sheep in early May to let plants grow
- Add a bit of lime to keep the soil at the right acidity level but don't add any artifical fertilisers
Further information
- Dartmoor hay meadows - rare species found
- Northumberland hay meadows - species found in hay meadows and a habitat action plan
- Peak District - a year in the life of a hay meadow - pdf showing the annual changes to a meadow
- Yorkshire Dales Hay Time project - restoring species-rich hay meadows across the dales
- Yorkshire Dales Hay Time project information sheet - word document with detailed project information
- Yorkshire Dales Hay Time festival - celebrating hay meadows with loads of events
