Between 2022 and 2024, I was fortunate to be involved in the Forest of Bowland Nature Recovery Plan. I’ve written about this rewarding project in a previous blog post, but in essence, my role involved creating eight landscape illustrations. These aimed to capture some of the Forest of Bowland’s internationally important habitats.

Within these landscape illustrations, I included many of the diverse species of birds, insects, plants, and mammals that call Bowland home. A special selection of fourteen was chosen to be the ‘Champion Species’, due to how rare, threatened and distinctive they are in the Forest of Bowland region.

Many of these Champion Species are wonderfully charismatic, with distinctive qualities that make them truly memorable. When you learn their stories, it’s hard not to feel a deep connection and a desire to help protect them and their precious habitats.

It was with this in mind, that a new commission gently took shape – an idea in the Forest of Bowland team to help raise more awareness of these special species and their unique characteristics. The hope was to create something tangible that people could collect, a way to keep these dear creatures and plants close to their hearts.

Working alongside Hetty Byrne from the Forest of Bowland team, we began to develop the idea of making a distinctive series of collectable pin badges. The plan was for these to be produced in limited amounts and small batches, making them rather special. Crucially, any funds raised from this initiative would be directly channelled into supporting the Champion Species project, thereby contributing to vital conservation efforts.

One of our main considerations from the outset was the environmental impact, in light pin badges are not always environmentally friendly. However, after some diligent research, we were so pleased to find a UK-based manufacturer who uses recyclable materials. Their environmentally friendly, small-batch production methods felt like a perfect fit, minimising any negative manufacturing impact.

The badges themselves are crafted from high-quality brass, finished with a protective front dome. It’s a technique reminiscent of old Victorian jewellery craft, but with a lovely modern feel.

With a suitable manufacturer found, my part was then to carefully produce the sketches and studies of each species. These would eventually become the digital files needed for production. It felt important at this stage to take the time to study each one individually.

Here are just a few glimpses into the studies and observations I worked on between December 2024 and February 2025. More recently, between February and March 2025, the focus has been on redrawing this artwork digitally, creating the 14 pin badge artworks.

Next is developing the backing card designs to ensure the badges have suitable, protective packaging, so we can look to get some product photography and set a release date!

You can read a little more about this developing project in this year’s Discover Bowland Guide (page 44). As I mentioned in my last post, physical copies of the 2025 guide and events programme are available from local Tourist Information Centres and various hospitality businesses throughout the Forest of Bowland. Alternatively, you can email Hetty Byrne at: hetty.byrne@lancashire.gov.uk if you’d like a copy posted to you.

And if you can’t wait, the digital download for 2025 is available here.

I’ll be back with another update very soon!