This film was produced by John Collins during the 2021 summer season, to showcase how volunteers and land managers were vital to the success of the hay meadow survey, management and restoration elements of the Glorious Grasslands project.

The Glorious Grasslands project ran from 2017 to 2021, focusing on hay meadows, pastures and ‘waxcap grasslands’. It raised awareness of the importance of species-rich grasslands and provided advice and input to management, enhancement and restoration of the existing grassland resource in the South West Peak.

It was led by the Peak District National Park Authority, working with Cheshire Wildlife Trust and Natural England, through the South West Peak Landscape Partnership. Funding was from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.

To inspire you further, here are three contributions of creative writing from people who have experienced the South West Peak’s Glorious Grasslands.

One of our regular volunteers Frankie wrote this poem about her experience collecting wildflower seeds:

‘Ragged Robin’ (on looking for/ collecting the seed of this precious flower)

We found a patch of

Ragged Robin

Bloomin’ blurry

Billowy, bobbing

It loves the Wet

It loves the Wild

And when we found it

The whole world smiled

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Jane, from Borderland Voices, had these words:

A vast landscape of green

A soft hug when you lie

upon the bed of shoots

Feeling like you’re being hugged

by a friend

Relaxing in the cool breeze

So peaceful and quiet

A beautiful place

In the vast lands of grass

Away from the hustle and bustle of it all

Your own tranquil escape.

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Sheena, from Borderland Voices, had these words:

A world within a world, all the shades of an artist’s palette, all the smells and sensations that spell summer.

If you sit alone in the centre of a meadow, maybe in July, you might expect to find solitude and silence, far from it. There is buzzing, clicking, rustling, birdsong; all is alive and moving in the soft breeze, along with the muted, subtle, colours on the ground. There are brilliant flashes of red, yellow and blues in every colour the sky can offer.

There are few better places in the world to be.