STUDENTS at Teesdale School will look into why many of the upper dale’s unique flowers are under threat as part of £222,000 scheme to save plants from extinction.
Members of the school’s Science and Nature clubs have already studied what makes the area such a special place for rare flora with the help of Teesdale Special Flora’s Plants on the Edge Project.
Their next challenge will be to explore why many of the flowers, which grow nowhere else in the world, have been found to be under threat.
For these sessions, the students will be working with renowned dale botanist Dr Margaret Bradshaw.
Dr Bradshaw has been surveying, documenting, and teaching others about the rare plants since the 1950s.
“These are the jewels of Teesdale,” she said.
“Plant treasures are to be cherished and looked after, for without care and attention they will disappear, and the Teesdale Blue Gentian will have to be searched for will and no longer be the carpet of blue it once was.”
Plants on the Edge is funded through a £222,400 grant from the government’s Green Recovery Challenge Fund to engage more people with our unique flora.
As part of the project, later this summer, young people at Middleton-in-Teesdale School and Middleton-in-Teesdale Beavers, Cubs and Scouts will be working with local artists to explore the special flora and what action they can take to protect them.
Dr Bradshaw and Dr Tom Gledhill, of Teesdale Special Flora, will also lead walks for interested adults during May, June and July.
Members of Upper Teesdale Botany Group will resume Monday evening meeting from May 9 to July 25 for their summer fieldwork programme. Membership is free.
To join to the botany group and to attend the 2022 summer fieldwork programme, contact Tricia Snaith at tricia .snaith@icloud.com
Anyone interested in finding out more and getting involved with the Plants of the Edge project can contact Naomi Priestley by email at naomi.priestley@northernheartlands.org.
