With an ambitious target of finding, safeguarding, multiplying and reintroducing all the original species which once grew here, the key was to involve local organisations, schools, volunteers and farmers to take up the challenge.

The project has helped to train local volunteers to identify species and harvest seeds from plants such as corn buttercups and flowered catchfly, which hadn’t been sighted for 74 years, to ensure future generations can enjoy these native plants. Now 93 of the long list of almost 100 species known to have grown here a century ago have been discovered and are being helped to flourish once more. A seed bank is being built up and individual species cards have been posted on the National Park’s website to disseminate the wealth of knowledge gained through the project.

Ian Carstairs, Carstairs Countryside Trust, said: “Perhaps the greatest thing we learned is that ordinary people with a combined passion can achieve amazing things. It is not easy, but then no-one said it would be.”