Margaret Bradshaw botanising in Teesdale (Photo from the Guardian article (link below)

Dear Readers, every so often I read about someone so inspirational that I have to share the details with you all, and so it was today when I read this story in The Guardian by Phoebe Weston.  Margaret Bradshaw was born in 1926 and has been studying the flora of Teesdale since an initial visit in the 1950s. The mix of southern European and arctic-alpine plants here are unique in the UK and are known as the ‘Teesdale Assemblage’. 28 of the species are threatened with extinction. Bradshaw conducted surveys in 1968-77, and again in 2002-2010, during which time there was an average drop of 54% in plant abundance. Without these surveys, we would have no idea how much of this unique community of plants was being lost.

Bradshaw has just published a book on the subject (at 97 years old) – ‘Teesdale’s Special Flora – Plants, Places and People‘. ‘Everything about Teesdale is special’, she says.

Interestingly, although overgrazing has been blamed for a fall in biodiversity in many areas, in Teesdale the problem is not enough grazing – the alpine plants here need lots of light and are easily overshadowed by faster growing species. As a result of Bradshaw’s studies, farmers are working with Natural England (which manages the land) to increase the number of sheep and control when and where they graze. Sadly, increases in nutrients from farming, rabbits (which graze the land differently from sheep) and climate change are all also having an effect. The last words of her book are heart-rending:

“This is our heritage, this unique assemblage of plant species, mine and yours,” she writes. “In spite of trying, I have failed to prevent its decline, now it is up to you.”

Margaret Bradshaw in Teesdale (Photo from The Guardian, see link above)

But what is so inspiring to me is not only Bradshaw’s mission to document and protect the plants of Teesdale, but her character. She reminds me of my Aunt Hilary, who was famously described as ‘a force of nature’ which in plain English can mean ‘a blooming difficult woman’. I notice that Bradshaw doesn’t suffer fools gladly, and tells the poor journalist a) that she’s driving too fast, b) to ‘read the book’ if she wants answers to some of her questions, and c) ‘curtly shushes’ the journalist when she doesn’t give Bradshaw time to think. But then, if you can’t speak your mind at 97, when can you speak your mind? And also, sometimes being direct and single-minded is the only way to get things done.

Bradshaw’s advice when asked how she manages to do so much even though she’s into her 90s is very telling, and worth remembering.

“Just keep going,” she says. “Keep at it. Don’t sit down and just watch the telly.”

And I think there’s so much truth in this (much as I love watching the telly). I’m sure that the way to be able to do things is to keep doing them if you possibly can. And, as Bradshaw rides off into the damp Teesdale morning, I for one will be considering her as one of my natural history icons, up there with David Attenborough, although I imagine she would pooh-pooh the idea. We need more people like Bradshaw to champion our nature-depleted countryside.

Hoary Whitlow-grass (Draba incarna) Photo by Mike Pennington. Reduced by nearly 100% in Teesdale to just one plant.

Dwarf Milkwort (Polygala amarella) Photo by By Algirdas – Latvian wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2451211. Reduced by 98% on Teesdale from its abundance in the 1960s.