New North Pennines wildflower and tree nursery

A growing space for native wildflowers and trees is being created in the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and UNESCO Global Geopark.

The new nursery will be based the AONB Partnership’s Bowlees Visitor Centre in Teesdale. It is being developed as part of the Tees-Swale: naturally connected programme, funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund and delivered in partnership by the North Pennines AONB Partnership and the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority. The nursery will help the team deliver actions for nature recovery, including woodland creation and the restoration of upland hay meadows and species-rich grassland. The plants and trees will go on to be used to support the principle of bigger, better and joined up habitats that underpins the Tees-Swale programme.

Dr Ruth Starr-Keddle, botanist and project officer for the North Pennines AONB Partnership, said: “It is vital to grow native wildflowers and trees as close to where their seeds are collected as possible. Through the Tees-Swale programme we now have the opportunity to have a dedicated growing space for these important plants, and we hope that this will support our conservation work into the future.”

Staff at the North Pennines AONB Partnership worked with volunteers from The Princes Trust to clear the 12 by 5 metre space before local contractors erected rabbit proof fencing and created paths. Once complete the nursery will have a workstation, three raised beds for tree growing and space for wildflower pots and trays.

SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) consent is currently being sought to collect tree seeds from the Upper Teesdale SSSI. Species such as Wych Elm, Juniper and Bird Cherry will be collected and grown at the nursery to plant out into nearby sites in a few years’ time. The first seeds, Wych Elm, will be collected later this month.

The nursery will be looked after by volunteers, who will receive training in wildflower and tree identification and seed collection. Volunteer opportunities will be advertised on our website.

Over five years, the Tees-Swale programme aims to:

• restore and enhance 225ha of the botanical diversity of upland hay meadows and grasslands; and
• create and enhance a minimum of 200ha of native broadleaved woodland, enabling the establishment of 200,000 trees.

With thanks to the landowner Raby Estates and funder The National Lottery Heritage Fund.