A CENTRE which supports conservation and sustainable development is using drone mapping technology to assess a major nature recovery project near York.

The North and East Yorkshire Ecological Data Centre (NEYEDC) is carrying out aerial drone mapping of two replanting schemes on the Escrick Park Estate.

The project to restore greater biodiversity to the land has been designed with environmental charity, Woodmeadow Trust.

At their Three Hagges Woodmeadow site, on land leased from the estate, the meadows and glades have been sown with lowland meadow flora to replicate the meadows once key to the fertile Ouse-Derwent floodplain.

These meadows help provide feeding and breeding places for a diverse range of wildlife.

York Press:

Annual surveys at Three Hagges have recorded the presence of 1,113 invertebrate species since 2015, including a variety of ladybirds, moths, beetles, grasshoppers and spiders.

Insect pollinators, attracted by a huge diversity of wildflowers, includes 34 bee species, 26 butterfly species, and 43 hoverfly species.

Two new woodmeadow sites are now being established on the Escrick Park Estate and the NEYEDC are using state-of-the-art drone technology to map the tree-planting patterns and record the growth of the trees and plants.

This data will guide future management as the habitat develops.

Simon Pickles, NEYEDC director, said: “This is a really exciting project and demonstrates how useful drone technology is in recording ecological data and identifying how a habitat develops.

"We first visited the site as part of our resilient heritage project in 2017, NatureHack, which is supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and looks at ways to make new environmental data technologies available to conservationists and land managers across Yorkshire.

"We are delighted that we now have an on-going collaboration with the team at the Woodmeadow Trust and are able to record the efforts of their nature recovery aims and inform future management decisions.”

Rosalind Forbes Adam, founder and director of Projects, Woodmeadow Trust, said: “The estate have given us a major opportunity to design the restoration of an ancient woodland site, returning it to its former glory not only by restocking with native broadleaf trees but also by designing areas of open space which optimise the rich woodland ground flora.

"The Trust’s management plan aims to be both sympathetic to wildlife and beneficial for timber. It is wonderful to have the help of NEYEDC to record our progress from the start. The quality of their images is fantastic and will enable us to monitor over time what is happening on the ground.”

Three Hagges Woodmeadow is open to visitors year-round.