Ryedale Folk Museum unveils new film on rare flowers

A POPULAR North Yorkshire museum has unveiled a new film dedicated to sharing a nature project, which has spanned two decades.

Ryedale Folk Museum has developed the film sharing their Cornfield Flowers Project, which first started in 1999 as part of a project to preserve plants at risk of extinction.

The project has managed a dedicated field at the Ryedale Folk Museum, in Hutton-le-hole, to preserve rare arable plants and flowers.

Steps were made to preserve the plants as modern chemicals to protect crops proved to be harmful for wildflower species that grew on the ploughed land.

The cornfield at Ryedale Folk Museum

Today, the demonstration cornfield at the museum remains one of the only sites in the north of England to view some of the rare arable wildflower species.

The film allows viewers to engage with the site digitally, as well as at different times throughout the year.

It has been created with funding from the Culture Recovery Fund, administered by Arts Council England to support organisation in the wake of the pandemic.

Events coordinator at Ryedale Folk Museum, Rosie Barrett, said: “We run events on site to share the cornfield with visitors too, and now the video is a lovely opportunity to reach a wider audience with this important story.

"The video features Chris Toohie from Wold Ecology LTD, which has provided ongoing financial support to the Museum in recent years.”

Early in the project, seeds were collected and deposited with Kew Garden’s Millennium Seed Bank and the field was shared with local farmers, many of whom were also aware that changes to farming methods had led to the loss of this arable plant heritage.

Rosie said: “These plants would have been commonly seen by our ancestors, but today most of us are unlikely to encounter them in the wild.

Large flowered hemp nettle at the cornfield

“The critically-endangered shepherd’s needle is rarely seen outside the south-east, particularly Suffolk, and the large-flowered hemp nettle’s last remaining stronghold in this country is in the Midlands.”

Following the Second World War, steps were taken to increase crop yields using new chemicals to protect crops.

Many of these chemicals were harmful for the flowers and plants that grew in this arable land.

Rosie said: “These are beautiful and exceptionally rare flowers, but they are also important plants for pollinators, part of a wider ecosystem, and our cornfield is buzzing at this time of year.”  

Ryedale Folk Museum has also commissioned artwork from York-based artist Kate Semple and visitors are able to purchase merchandise featuring the new design from the museum shop.

York artist Kate Semple has created artwork on the cornfield flowers

All proceeds from the sales go to support with conserving the cornfield.

More information about the Cornfield Flowers Project and Ryedale Folk Museum’s cornfield can be accessed via their website, which also provides access to the new short film: www.ryedalefolkmuseum.co.uk/conserving-cornflowers-at-the-museum/