Celebrating 20 years of floodplain conservation
This September we celebrated the 20-year anniversary of the Long Preston Floodplain Project, marking two decades of collaborative work to naturalise the river, restore wetland habitats and promote sustainable farming on the Ribble floodplain.
Nestled between the Yorkshire Dales and Forest of Bowland, the Long Preston floodplain is a unique wetland area, with 165 hectares of the floodplain designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
The floodplain is important for farming, rich in history and a priority habitat for wading birds and rare flora. At the peak of the season, the area can be home to up to 2,500 birds, of which 47 species on the UK Birds of Conservation Concern Red List have been recorded. These include curlew, lapwing, grey partridge, Bewick’s swan, pochard and hen harrier, as well as skylark, greenfinch, tree sparrow and house sparrow.
“We have been working with farmers on the Long Preston floodplain for 20 years to restore nature and a working floodplain. What really marks this project out to me is the genuine trust, collective endeavour – and friendship – that has been built up between all involved.” YDMT Chief Executive David Sharrod, who has been involved since the project first started back in 2004
“As an early participant in the project it is wonderful to see how it has grown, taking with it the confidence of farmers and various wildlife bodies to achieve some truly meaningful outcomes.” Steven Crabtree, a member of the Ribblesdale Farmers Group.
In 2024, the Long Preston Project partners agreed a new ambitious strategy with the dual aims of providing catchment-scale habitat restoration and supporting sustainable farming across the whole of the Upper River Ribble Catchment.
20 Years of Floodplain success
- 84 hectares of wet grassland have been created.
- 190 hectares of farmed land have been restored to thriving wetland habitat. This includes flood embankment realignment and the creation of ponds.
- Historical weirs have been removed, restoring natural river processes, allowing migrating fish to move freely through the river.
- 16 habitat creation schemes were completed in 2022, covering 10.5 hectares of floodplain land. This included small wildlife habitats, riparian woodlands and hedgerows.
- Over 18 years of bird counts have been undertaken with 212 species recorded – demonstrating how special the area is for breeding, passage and wintering birds.
Learn more about our work
Woodlands
25 years ago we joined forces with other organisations to expand tree cover across the Yorkshire Dales and surrounding areas. Since then, we’ve supported the planting of over 1.5 million native broadleaf trees.
Meadows
When Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust first started restoring hay meadows in 2006, less than four square miles of species-rich hay meadow habitat remained in the whole of the UK.
Rural Apprenticeships
Rural Apprenticeships give young people who live in the Yorkshire Dales and surrounding areas the chance to stay here and gives them skills to help care for this special area.
