More people are taking part in No Mow May – but not the deerWildflower planting programme launched at Ripon nature reserve

The Skell Valley Project is inviting people to help restore wildlife habitats at Ripon’s Hell Wath nature reserve.

The £2.5 million project aims to provide a sustainable future for 12 miles of the River Skell through Dallowgill Moor and Ripon an on to the vale of York.

Throughout January, the project team will be working with the Friends of Hell Wath and Harrogate Borough Council to carry out habitat improvements by restoring areas of grassland and continuing to remove areas of scrub.

The areas for clearance have been selected with the aim of creating a rich environment for a wide range of animal and plant species.

The conservation work is part of the Friends’ management plan for the site developed in liaison with the four-year Skell project, which is led by the National Trust and Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

On Saturday January 14, members of the community can find out more about the wildflower planting programme and how they can become involved by meeting at the Ripon City Panthers clubhouse at Hell Wath, where a drop-in session will be held between 10am and 3pm.

Following the public event, scrub clearance will continue throughout the week with various volunteer groups. Information boards and maps throughout the site are being put in place to provide details of what’s happening.

Red Admiral is one variety of butterfly playing a key role in pollination at Hell Wath. Picture: Ripon Photographic Society

Hell Wath is a designated local nature reserve important for its grassland and contains species such as the common spotted orchid and adder’s-tongue fern.

Work so far has helped wildflowers recover and rare bee orchids have reappeared in key areas. This month’s work will ensure these wildflowers are not swamped by the encroaching scrub and woodland, which will create more feeding opportunities for pollinating insects.

The project’s area ranger Gabby Crisp said:

“We’d love the local community to come and give Hell Wath a hand by joining us on Saturday January 14 at a drop-in practical session we’ll be holding on site.

“We’ll be hand-cutting some scrub to allow space for the grassland and the wildlife it supports to thrive. It’ll be a great way to kick off the new year with some fresh air and a chance to burn off some Christmas calories too!’.

Jeremy Dunford, secretary of the Friends, added:

“Growing the wildflower population of the large grassland meadows is a key part of the management plan for Hell Wath. This will increase the range and number of butterflies and other insects in this area which will in turn see a larger variety of birds and small mammals at the nature reserve.

“Those unable to make the public event can still get involved in helping nature thrive in this special place from the comfort of home. Friends of Hell Wath are asking the local community to help by cultivating wildflower plugs to plant on Hell Wath in the autumn.”

For a £5 donation, the Friends will provide a pack of wildflower seeds, a tray of 12 biodegradable seeds pots, peat free compost to fill the trays and an instruction leaflet for cultivating the seeds provided.

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Harrogate council installs beehives to pollinate flowers

Harrogate Borough Council has installed two new beehives to help pollinate flowers and support biodiversity.

Once established, the bee colonies will produce honey that could be sold to the public.

A council spokesman said the beehives had been put on council-owned land off Wetherby Road, although the precise location wasn’t revealed.

They will be looked after by Terrence Ogilvie, a keen beekeeper who works in the council’s parks and street cleaning team.

If the experiment proves successful, the council could introduce more beehives across the district.

Conservative councillor Andrew Paraskos, cabinet member for environment, waste reduction and recycling, said:

“Bees are a vital part of the ecosystem to help pollinate many of the trees and flowers that provide habitats for wildlife.

“By introducing beehives we are further playing our part to help stop and reverse the decline of wildlife in the district.”

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Earlier this year, the council’s new rewilding strategy saw swathes of green spaces, including on the Stray, left untouched by mowers and strimmers to allow nature to grow free and attract bees.

The idea was welcomed by many, who saw it as a sign that the council was serious about improving biodiversity. But others, who cherish Harrogate’s reputation for organised and elegant planting, believed it made the town look untidy.

Re-wilding is different from re-naturalising says Sharow church conservationist

This year has seen a lively debate about the merits of leaving grass to grow in public areas such as the Stray, cemeteries or on roadside verges to benefit bio-diversity.

For three decades, Simon Warwick, director and trustee of the Lower Ure Conservation Trust, has been involved in a programme of activity focused on the churchyard at St John’s Church in the village of Sharow, where he lives.

The long grass close to some graves is part of a planned re-naturalising regime.

Mr Warwick, who has been honoured with an MBE in recognition of his lifelong work as a conservationist, told the Stray Ferret how re-naturalising is different from re-wilding:

“Today’s landscape is very different from the one our ancestors would have known .

“It is now largely a ‘tidy’ and ‘ordered’ landscape, of arable monoculture and species-poor grass in which wildlife, in many cases, struggles to thrive

Photo of graves at St John's Churchyard, Sharow

Graves among the grass – some long, some short, is part of a planned and managed programme of re-naturalising

“Much of our native wildlife is adapted to a richer mosaic of habitat; a tapestry, a varied environment.

In the case of species-rich grassland, this is often a result of active management, reflecting traditional farming methods.

“In the case of the churchyard at St John’s, Sharow, the management follows that of a traditional hay meadow.

“We will cut the area on the summer meadow until early April, then let it grow, flower and largely set seed; only cutting it for hay in mid-July.

“Essentially it is allowed its ‘head’ for about 14 weeks of the year and after that mown short, with all the cuttings removed (essential to lower nutrient levels); this practice follows the tradition of early spring grazing, a hay cut and an ‘aftermath’ graze.”

“The end result is spectacular, with a carpet of wildflowers in May and June. Mr Warwick said it is always a little painful to cut it for hay, when it is alive with butterflies, bees and beautiful burnet moths.

“However, despite what seems like a damaging act, the cut and remove process is central to maintaining a species-rich are”So why is long grass often species-poor?

“The simple answer is that many species of wildflowers and grasses are easily shaded out, dead vegetation increases fertility, which in turn encourages rank species to grow.

“Sharow churchyard is special, the principle reason being that when the land was consecrated in the 1800s, it was almost certainly an established hay meadow.

“Irregular cutting and perhaps grazing by the Dean’s sheep will have maintained many of the old meadow species.  Having managed the churchyard in a traditional manner now for 30 years, it has duly been recognised for its importance on a county and national level.

“Whilst the summer meadow is in many ways the gem of the churchyard, the spring meadow is managed similarly but left to flower from early-March to the cut in late June, followed by regular mowing.  Spring is a riot of wild daffodils, bluebells, violets and wood anemones.

“Other areas, accommodating more modern graves, are cut perhaps every week to six weeks; other bits only once a year, or even longer.

“So, you may ask ‘which way is the right way?’   and the answer is that they sort of all are!

“We have lost the connection with the traditional mosaic of our natural and managed landscape; no real surprise that we have lost so much of our native wildlife.  We need to re-welcome a tapestry back into our landscape and be less ‘tidy.!”

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