We're pleased to announce a new two-year project to boost the declining number of grassland wildflowers and plants in Cumbria. Thanks to £250,000 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, we'll re-introduce or bolster 14 rare plant species at selected locations in South Lakeland and are looking for volunteers to get involved.

Thanks to National Lottery players, over the coming two years up to 40,000 plants will be grown from seed at our plant nursery near Carlisle. The rare seeds are already being collected (with permission) and carefully stored at the Seed Store at Gosling Sike. Over coming months, we'll work with volunteers to plant the seeds in our wildflower nursery. Later on, volunteers will plant the plug plants in suitable locations that have been selected in south Cumbria.

A group of 24 farmers and other landowners have already signed up to grow the endangered species on their land (read more here). We'll support them into the future, so that the landowners can provide the best conditions for these plants to prosper and establish strongholds.

Tanya St. Pierre, Grassland and Pollinator Team Manager for Cumbria Wildlife Trust said: “We’re really excited about this new project which will protect our vanishing species of wildflowers. Here in Cumbria, we’re lucky to have a treasure trove of truly beautiful and evocative wildflowers. But sadly, they’re vanishing rapidly from our countryside at an alarming pace. Thanks to funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, we can do something about this.

“Just before Christmas, we put a call out to landowners, tenants and farmers to help us re-establish some of our most rare and vulnerable wild plants back into the Cumbrian landscape, so that they’re not lost forever. We received an overwhelming response from people wanting to use their land for planting these rare species.

“There are now more opportunities for volunteers to get involved. We’ll provide lots of specialist training from Kew Millennium Seed Bank, including species identification, sowing and growing rare species. As well as our regular dedicated volunteers who may like to join us, we’re reaching out to groups of young people to take part in conservation work days, weekend volunteer sessions and a Young Environmental Leaders residential. From sowing seeds in our nursery to planting the tiny plug plants out in the Cumbrian landscape, there’ll be many ways to get involved this spring and summer.”  

A major study by the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland in 2023 found that an estimated 53% of all native plants have declined, with species-rich grasslands amongst the most threatened habitats in Britain. Alongside this decline, Tanya says there’s also been a reduction in students studying botany, as fewer universities now offer degrees in this subject. This is one reason she’s particularly keen to work with young people: “We need to look to the future: to assist, encourage and train a new generation of volunteer botanists – we hope that this exciting new project will help to do that!”

The planting locations are in South Lakeland, focusing on habitats around Windermere but we hope to work with volunteers and youth groups from right across Cumbria. 

To find out more, email Tanya and keep an eye on the current volunteering opportunities page on our website over the coming months.  

Funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund and delivered by Cumbria Wildlife Trust, Cumbria Seed Bank is a two-year project that aims to reverse the decline of rare and iconic wildflowers of grassland habitats in Cumbria. Survey, conservation and restoration works are due to take place in summer 2025 and 2026.