About
Meadow Connections is an ongoing project which seeks to provide opportunities to learn about and get involved with the unique, breathtakingly beautiful and increasingly rare habitats of upland hay meadows in the Yorkshire Dales. The project will seek to reimagine their traditional place as a hub and support of community life and activity, whether it be artists, writers, historians, archaeologists, walkers, botanists, ecologists, beekeepers and crafts people, everyone can be inspired to be involved in their own way.
We intend to use the Meadow Connections Festival, held on the 7th - 9th July 2017, as a launch to the project and one which will create initial links, both locally and nationally. The key word is connections, connections between people, places and ways of thinking, both new and old.
By providing a place to learn about the importance of these habitats and the ecosystems they support, we hope to engage the public in a way which will encourage a deeper understanding and care for these areas so that they might be enjoyed, utilised and maintained for generations to come.
Meadow Connections wouldn't be happening if there hadn't been the support of many volunteers over the last few years who have come along to workdays and helped organise events from which Meadow Connections has grown. They have shown that there really is an appetite for what we intend to provide, so a big thank you goes out to all those involved so far.
Our Supporters
Meadow Connections is sponsored by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Sustainable Development Fund. Please click on the logo at the bottom of this page to read more about this great fund.
Every year, £175,000 is available through our Sustainable Development Fund (SDF) to help fantastic projects, big and small, get off the ground in the National Park.
SDF supports schemes that promote a more sustainable way of living in, working in and visiting the National Park, while conserving and enhancing its local culture, wildlife, landscape and communities.
Thanks also goes to the Dales Countryside Museum in Hawes for the lending of material on the history of hay time in the Yorkshire Dales as well as items from their collections. We are very thankful for their help and support.
www.dalescountrysidemuseum.org.uk
The Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust have been very generous in their promoting of the event through the Flowers of the Dales events calendar and other channels, thanks goes to the YDMT team
Flowers of the Dales Festival 2017
We have also received help from Plant Life in the form of publicity and a generous donation, many thanks to the Plant Life team