High Hirst Woodmeadow was established by Hebden Royd Town Council in 2020, after their declaration of a Climate Emergency in March 2019 and in response to the global loss of biodiversity.
The project adapted a four-acre, council-owned site into a mixed habitat of woodland and meadows to support wildlife.
Key dates
- 2019: Hebden Royd Town Council began developing the project.
- 2020: The project was officially launched.
- 2021: The High Hirst Woodmeadow Project was announced to the public.
- 2023: On 20th April, an opening and unveiling ceremony took place for new access paths and interpretation panels.
- 2024: The Friends of High Hirst Woodmeadow supported Hebden Royd Town Council to develop and manage the site.
- 2024: In April, a previously unnamed species of fungus, belonging to the dotted fanvault family was discovered at High Hirst Woodmeadow. This fungus is awaiting an official name.
Events
The project hosts several events throughout the year including a Learn to Scythe training workshop, a celebration of National Meadows Day on the first Saturday of July and a hay harvesting week with a Haytime Tea celebration at the end!
Moth breakfasts, Bat walks and dawn chorus walks are also hosted on site.
Plans for annual Apple Day and Wassail are also underway so watch this space!
Volunteering
If you’re interested in volunteering, please contact Gareth Muir, Local Environment & Allotments Officer
Upcoming Events
Please check Hebden Royd Town Council’s What’s On Hebden Bridge page for any upcoming events.
Site Management
The site is managed by Hebden Royd Town Council with the support of Hebden Royd residents. Practical Environmental Conservation activities are carried out on site including mowing with scythes, drystone wall restoration and coppicing, which is a traditional form of woodland management.
Livestock are grazed on the site as part of the management approach, with the permissive path on site being closed to the public during this period.
Read more about how we manage the site throughout the seasons below.
Site Management Update – January to June 2026
2026 has been a busy year for the High Hirst Woodmeadow Project. Several management tasks have been undertaken on site. These have been seasonal in nature with the Winter tasks including coppicing, hedgerow management and plug plant planting. Spring has seen the meadow undergo vegetation management, orchard management and the annual peening day with tool maintenance.
Volunteer engagement has been high with over 50 individual volunteers taking part in volunteer workdays contributing 186 hours to the project. This equates to a value of £2,364.06 worth of volunteer hours contributed (number of volunteer hours multiplied by the minimum wage at £12.71). The project has welcomed 15 new volunteers to the project so far this year. Many volunteers report that they found out about the project through word of mouth and social media.
Outcomes from the volunteer task days include 40 hazel ‘stools’ coppiced resulting in the production of 43 hedging stakes, 20 pea canes and 15 bean poles. 387 metres of hedgerow was trimmed with 79 hawthorn whips planted into gaps in the hedgerow. These hawthorn whips were kindly donated from Rooting4Change, who are a member of the Hebden Royd Green Network, you can find out more about their work by following the link Rooting4Change. All 75 fruit and nut trees on the meadow were checked and subsequently weeded, mulched with some of the livestock guards needing some maintenance. Volunteers pulled approx. 1.8 m3 of creeping thistle (Cirsium arvense) and broadleaf common dock (Rumex obtusifolius), which competes with other preferable plants on site.
A dawn chorus walk was held on site with over 20 species of birds heard and seen on the meadow, with notable mentions including cuckoo, garden warbler and stonechat.
Future events include National Meadows Day on 4th July with activities including ecology and local history walks and a scything demonstration. Find out more by following the link National Meadows Day. Other events planned include a moth breakfast and bat walk, more details to follow. The annual ‘Haytime’ will take place throughout July with volunteers mowing and making bales of hay. If you would like to get involved, please follow the link Haytime 2026.
On-site resources
- Two interpretation boards, giving information about the project and the flora and fungi on site.
- An orchard with a wide variety of apples, plums and walnuts, which will be harvested by the local community once the trees have matured.
- A wheelchair accessible viewing point from the Manor Drive entrance off the Dodnaze estate
