Botanist Margaret Bradshaw's rallying cry to carry on mission to conserve unique Teesdale flora

At the age of 98, Dr Margaret Bradshaw is as dedicated as ever to protecting the wild flowers of Teesdale

A world-expert botanist has issued a rallying cry for people to get interested in conservation and carry on her mission to protect the unique plant-life in her corner of County Durham.

Dr Margaret Bradshaw has advocated for the conservation of the flora of Teesdale for seven decades and published her first book on the subject last year.

The 98-year-old was honoured on Tuesday (2 July) with an honorary Doctor of Science at Durham University - the same place she earned her PhD.

Speaking to ITV Tyne Tees ahead of the ceremony, she said she hoped the next generation would continue her life's work and posed the question: "Do you care?"

"I don't think I've completed my mission and I just hope that more people will get interested in Teesdale," Dr Bradshaw said.

"People do come to Teesdale to look at its flora and we can't conserve the flora without people who are interested in it.

"I just hope others will follow on and achieve what I don't think I have achieved."

Dr Bradshaw moved from East Yorkshire to Upper Teesdale in the early 1950s and started recording its plant-life.

Widdybank Fell, near to where the botanist lives, is home to rare wild flowers including arctic alpines - "part of the vegetation that developed after the ice began to melt 12,000 years ago".

Dr Bradshaw explained: "What makes Teesdale particularly special is that we've also got a small number of southern species growing with the arctic species and there's nowhere else in Britain where you get that combination."

Driven by her passion for the rare flora of her where she calls home, she has been a tireless advocate for its conservation - spending her life researching and teaching.

She has informed a wide audience of the rare flowers via a Botany Group, public lectures, and the Teesdale Special Flora Research and Conservation Trust webpage and social media and media.

She published her first book, Teesdale's Special Flora: Places, Plants and People, in 2023 at the age of 97.

"I have helped to raise the profile of the unique flora of Teesdale, its scenery and people," said Dr Bradshaw, on receiving her honorary degree.

"After almost a lifetime I am addicted to its plants and hefted to the Dale.”

But the fells are changing, she warns, with the rare flowers decreasing over the last 44 years.

The scientist believes an element of the reduction is owing to the warming climate.

Now, and at the age of "98-and-a-half", she is calling on people to become interested in a bid to preserve these plants for the future.

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