From the coal face to a wild place, a biodiverse haven has grown from the remnants of England’s worst mining disaster.

A team of green-fingered volunteers – with a little help from Mother Nature – has regenerated the landscape at Barnsley Main Colliery and created a place now flourishing with wildlife.

Barnsley Main Heritage Group have been taking care of the site at Hoyle Mill, near to Stairfoot, since 2016.

They formed as part of a project with Dearne Valley Landscape Partnership to commemorate the 150^th anniversary of the Oaks Disaster which happened there in 1866.

A series of underground explosions killed over 380 men and boys, some as young as ten. Hoyle Mill lost nearly all its male population. Over 160 women were widowed, and 366 children lost their fathers. No other mining disaster in England has been as deadly.

The project at Barnsley Main was initially set up to preserve the significance of its industrial heritage.

For more than a century, the site and the fortunes of local residents was shaped by coal. The area still bears the coal-blackened scars of the mining industry and its perilous human cost.

The site also has Barnsley’s last remaining engine house and steel pit head, which was given Grade II listed status in 2014, as well as original tub tracks.

The volunteers tidied up the site ahead of the anniversary and looked at the stories of those who gave their lives and those who made Barnsley.

Many of the volunteers have a connection to the pit. Three of Alice Williams’ relatives worked there, while Janet Town’s three-times great grandfather and his 13-year-old son were killed in the Oaks explosion.

They hold an annual remembrance service every December on the anniversary of the Oaks disaster near to the shaft.

They’ve also opened a small museum in an old shipping container which has presentation boards and artefacts on display. This tells the journey from deep mining at the old Oaks Colliery in the 1830s, development by Dan Rylands in the late 19^th century, nationalisation in 1947, and its eventual closure in the early 1990s.

Having been closed for over 25 years before the volunteers became custodians, the site was in a sorry state, prone to vandalism and left to decay. The team have improved access from the main road and installed a new entrance with barriers to deter anti-social behaviour.

Over the last nine years, the project has evolved into enhancing and protecting the natural environment to improve biodiversity.

Volunteers have planted over 500 trees, shrubs and plants, including a range of oaks on the old muck stack. There is now a hazelnut orchard, nettle wood, wildlife meadow and a secret garden protected from hungry rabbits and deer.

They’ve also created a rockery, nature corner for recording wildlife, and a memorial garden with a new bench made from natural materials.

Community groups and local businesses have also jumped on board. The site is used by schools and scout groups for educational purposes, and BettaLives special needs group have their own patch they tend to.

What has grown is a pleasant place, somewhere to get close to nature and enjoy peace and tranquillity – a space to help boost both mental and physical health. Last year they won the platinum Yorkshire Rose parks award from Britain in Bloom.

Volunteer Andy Young is a naturalist who has been a driving force behind their many wildlife projects. His dad was an electrician at Barnsley Main in the 1960s and he remembers coming down to see the pit ponies and having a ride on the conveyor belt.

In his own career, Andy worked as a metallurgist in the steelworks at Stocksbridge for over 30 years. This interest in science and analytics has seen him form a partnership with Brunel University to create a phytomining area at Barnsley Main.

A particular set of 20 metal-hungry plants have been planted to absorb pollutants from the ground through their roots. Their leaves are then analysed for precious metals like titanium, zinc, copper and lead.

As well as cleaning the soil, phytomining is also a more sustainable, less invasive option for mining. Up to six grams of metal can be extracted from the soil for every kilogram of plants harvested. These are sent from Barnsley to Antwerp to be reused.

For their work, Barnsley Main Heritage Group received the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2022. The group are always looking for new volunteers to help with clearing paths, planting and weeding, mowing and maintenance. They meet every Monday and Thursday morning for two hours between 10am and 12pm, weather permitting.

There’s no commitment necessary and every little helps, so if you have a few hours to spare and like being outdoors, pop down to speak to the team. They have a ‘tea and talk’ at 11am when they’re on site, where they down tools and have a catch up.

The site is open daily for people to respectfully walk around – there’s also the TransPennine Trail and Dearne Valley park nearby.

The museum reopens for the 2025 season on Easter Monday and will be open every Monday and Thursday morning until October.

Barnsley Main Colliery is on Oaks Lane, Barnsley S70 3ET, accessed either from Grange Lane or Pontefract Road.

Find out more on their website or by finding them on Facebook and Instagram.