Hay time in the Pennines

Jun 6 2009 by Tony Henderson, The Journal

A PROJECT to boost the number of hay meadows in the North Pennines is to be expanded and extended.

The North Pennines AONB Partnership has secured £270,000 of new grant aid for its Hay Time project.

The money includes a £120,000 County Durham Environmental Trust award under the Landfill Communities Fund, £100,300 from Natural England’s Countdown 2010 Biodiversity Action Fund and £49,400 from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Upland hay meadows are one of the rarest grassland habitats in the country.

In the North Pennines traditional farm management has retained meadows that have been lost elsewhere through the addition of fertiliser or early cutting to make silage rather than hay. With up to 100 different plant species per field, the meadows not only look stunning but provide an important habitat for wildlife. In the North Pennines the Hay Time project works with farmers to enhance and restore meadows.

As part of the expansion of the Hay Time project, the AONB Partnership has appointed Neil Diment to the post of community officer.

Over the next two years he will be involving schools, volunteers and local communities in conserving and celebrating hay meadows.

Neil said: “People have been making hay in the North Pennines for generations and a rich language and tradition has developed in connection with this. I am thrilled to now have the chance to share my enthusiasm about our meadows and to find ways of involving as many people as possible in the Hay Time project.

Further project officers will be responsible for surveying the meadows, advising farmers, harvesting and spreading seed and the development of new elements of the project that will focus on invertebrates and birds.

Rebecca Barrett, area co-ordinator for the Partnership said: “Receiving this new funding is tremendous – not only will we be able to continue this important work of Hay Time until 2012 but will now be able to develop new approaches to ensure that our best hay meadows are well managed into the future.”