February has already been an exciting month! Last week I went to Horton Quarry in Horton in Ribblesdale to meet with Dan and Jops from Heidleberg Materials to talk with them about my planned grazing experiment. The experiment will be funded under their Quarry Life Awards scheme which promotes conservation in Heidleberg Materials quarries. My project will be part of the research stream.

Horton Quarry is in an amazing location, nestled in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales, between the famous three peaks it is surrounded by limestone pavements. Several pavements have been destroyed by past owners of the quarry but Heidelberg Materials aim to protect the pavements and preserve biodiversity. One the edge of the quarry there is an area of limestone pavement and calcareous grassland where we will be working.

The reason I am so excited about this project is that this will be the first grazing experiment conducted within a UK limestone pavement. It is incredible to believe but at the moment there is no evidence base to support practitioners when they make decisions about how best to manage limestone pavements. Grazing is a key element of this. Limestone pavements in the Yorkshire Dales have traditionally been grazed by sheep and less commonly cattle. The grazing occurs for most of the year except a short winter closure period on common land, the timing of which varies between different commons. Observations on pavements suggest that the timing and intensity of grazing are critical for maintaining a pavement in good condition but we need evidence to back this up. It is really hard to set up grazing experiments which is another reason why this is such an exciting opportunity.

Last week when Hannah and I visited we were given health and safety briefings and we explored the area of pavement we will be working in. We are now the proud owners of hard hats and high viz jackets with more safety equipment to come. Over the next few months I will be planning and setting up the experiment and then this summer we will be able to collect our first data. I will be focussing on the plant community and Hannah on the butterflies and moths.

Hopefully the beautiful rainbow over the quarry will prove to be a good omen because this is a competition. We will present our research to the judges later this year for the opportunity to win a prize as part of the national, and if we do well enough, the international competition. But more importantly we will have an experiment set up which we hope will run for several years giving us insight into the best way to manage pavements.

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