Save our meadows
With more than 97% of our wildflower hay meadows already lost, we need your help now more than ever to save these extraordinary ecosystems.
The Yorkshire Dales and Forest of Bowland are home to some of the last remaining wildflower meadows in England. These priority habitats are important for farming, absorb carbon and support incredible biodiversity - more than 700 species of wild plants and many priority wildlife species like bumblebees, bats, hedgehogs, hares, and our iconic curlew.
As our few remaining meadows become increasingly isolated and fragmented it's more important than ever to expand and protect these biodiverse, carbon-storing habitats.
Over the last 17 years Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust has been working to restore species-rich meadows and protect the wildlife that depends on them. Together we have the chance to repair and restore our precious wildflower meadows for future generations. Here's how you can help...
Help save our meadows
Give a special wildflower gift for £25 and help us restore wildflower meadows in the Yorkshire Dales, home to bumblebees, birds and butterflies.
Give a Living Bouquet
We've created over 800 hectares of wildflower meadow. Help us make more! £15 could help restore around 40 square metres of species-rich wildflower meadow.
Inspire children to explore the magical world of bees. Our bee box is packed with everything you need to discover bees from magnifying glass to wildflower seeds.
Buy a Bee Box - £15
What's so important about hay meadows?
In the Yorkshire Dales our upland meadows are home to more than 700 species of wild plants and support many priority wildlife species such as bumblebees, bats, hedgehogs, hares, and our iconic curlew. The sheer diversity of plants in a species-rich meadow helps slow rainwater run-off and reduce flood risks and makes them more resilient to extreme weather. One hectare of meadow stores an estimated three tonnes of carbon dioxide every year!
- Find out what's so important about hay meadows and what we're doing to protect them.
- Enjoy a close-up look around the amazing wildflower meadows at Muker and Askrigg, bursting with colour and scents and alive with the gentle hum of insects - take virtual meadow tour.
- Discover more about bumblebees, birds and other native wildlife, and learn some simple things you can do to help wildlife at home. Help wildlife at home.
Learn more about our work
Meadows
When YDMT started restoring hay meadows in 2006, less than four square miles of species-rich hay meadow habitat remained in the whole of the UK.
Take a virtual tour for a close-up look around the amazing wildflower meadows at Muker and Askrigg!
Bumblebees in our meadows
Species-rich meadows support more priority wildlife and plant species than any other habitat type.
