UPDATE – Thank you so much for your stunning response!

We have been overwhelmed by your generosity. The response from members of Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and the wider public has been incredible. We have heard this week that our application for funding to the Heritage Lottery Fund has been approved which provides the final piece in our funding jigsaw. We are delighted to announce, therefore, that we have hit our target!

We would also like to thank The Esmee Fairbairn Foundation who bought the site when it came up for sale and gave us time to raise the funds to purchase it from them. This meant that we were able to grasp the opportunity before it was lost forever.

We will keep this Just Giving page open as we still need to raise money for essential equipment to enable us to manage the new land and also future conservation management costs. 

The stunningly-beautiful traditional hay meadows, so characteristic of the Dales, are disappearing at a devastating rate. Already one of the rarest types of grassland in the UK, there are now estimated to be less than 1000 hectares left in the north of England and as the hay meadows disappear so do the wildflowers which grow there.

Ashes Pasture is a small and exceptionally beautiful mosaic of grassland in stunning Ribblesdale, nestled between the iconic peaks of Pen-y-Ghent and Ingleborough. Myriad orchids flower during spring and summer, curlews and meadow pipits breed on site and the elusive and endangered black grouse can be spotted there. We have been offered 20 hectares of potentially wildlife-rich land surrounding Ashes Pasture.  Excitingly this new land will allow us to open up access onto the nature reserve without damaging it, inspiring visitors with its views and the wildlife found within it, including some spectacular examples of upland hay meadow flowers.  

All funds received over and above our target will be used for purchasing essential equipment and delivering conservation work on site.