Rare Ice Age plants in County Durham get £64k protection

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 21 Oct, 08:32 · Archive

A three-year conservation project in Upper Teesdale has received £64,739 to protect rare Arctic-alpine plants that have survived since the last Ice Age.

A three-year conservation project has been launched to protect rare Arctic-alpine plants that have survived in County Durham's Upper Teesdale since the end of the last Ice Age. The scheme has received £64,739 from the North Pennines National Landscape's Farming in Protected Landscapes programme and will be run by the Teesdale Special Flora Trust and the landscape team.

Upper Teesdale is one of the top five botanical hotspots in Britain and Ireland, home to more than 100 plants of conservation interest. Among them is the Teesdale Assemblage, a unique group of 20 rare and endangered Arctic-alpine plants thought to have survived continuously since soon after the last glaciation, 10,000 to 12,000 years ago.

The project will collect seed from plants in suitable hotspots with large enough populations, then plant plug plants in trial plots on the fell. Volunteers will be trained to identify plants, collect seed, propagate them and sow them at the end of the season. Dr Margaret Bradshaw, founder of the Teesdale Special Flora Trust, said the project is crucial to support ongoing research and conservation of these rare species.

How it is being reported

• Rare County Durham plants that survived since Ice Age given £64,000 conservation hopeNew £64,739 project will protect Upper Teesdale’s rare Arctic-alpine plants, survivors since the last Ice Age, through seed collection and conservation.The Northern Echo · 21 Oct, 08:00
• Rare Ice Age plants in County Durham to benefit from £64k conservation projectNew £64,739 project will protect Upper Teesdale’s rare Arctic-alpine plants, survivors since the last Ice Age, through seed collection and conservation.Darlington & Stockton Times · 21 Oct, 06:00

In this story: Upper Teesdale · County Durham · Teesdale Special Flora Trust · North Pennines National Landscape · Dr Margaret Bradshaw · Teesdale Assemblage

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