Pippa Rayner

Pippa Rayner, the new Hay Time project officer, is about to take up her post based at YDMT's office in Clapham.

Over the next three and a half years she will work closely with farmers to establish a system for collecting and distributing high quality local hay meadow seed.

She also wants to set up contracts with agricultural contractors to operate the specialised machinery for hay meadow seed harvesting and establish demonstration sites where hay meadow restoration techniques can be showcased.

She will provide specific training on land management techniques to benefit the meadows and produce guidance on the importance of upland hay meadows and how to look after them.

Pippa Rayner, project officer for the Yorkshire Dales scheme, said: "It is a project that has been needed for a long time.There is a type of upland meadow in northern counties that you don't get anywhere else in England and we want to increase the number."We have been overwhelmed by the response so far - it's been fantastic.It's a good project and it is helping farmers to get more money."The £473,000 scheme has been supported by funds from the Tubney Charitable Trust, Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, English Nature's Countdown 2010 fund and other private sponsors.Farmers and landowners in the Dales interested in taking part in Hay Time should contact Pippa on 01524 251002 or email p.rayner@ydmt.org

Pippa Rayner, Hay Time Project Officer p.rayner@ydmt.org

Pippa Rayner, Hay Time Project Officer (Yorkshire Dales) p.rayner@ydmt.org

Contact: Pippa Rayner
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Pippa Rayner, Hay Time Project Officer, had a busy summer surveying wildflower meadows throughout the Dales.Despite the tight schedule, the team successfully organised restoration of five meadows in Arkengarthdale, Coverdale and Ribblesdale.

Over the winter, Pippa has been kept busy providing meadow management advice and meeting with partner organisations to organise future meadow restoration schemes.She has also been producing several leaflets to explain how the project works, as well as a 'Hay meadow flowers and grasses' identification guide, to help people to recognise the different flowers found in the rare and valuable Yorkshire Dales' species-rich meadows.