Newsletter archive

  • Newsletter: June/July 2026 (7/14/2026) - Slow worm basking on the track at Heggs Farm New Natural History GCSE aims to grow next generation of green…
  • Newsletter: May 2026 (5/29/2026) - Header photo ‘Hedge springing back to life along the Swale Trail with new Sustainable Swaledale sign’. Main photo ‘Spring flora…
  • Newsletter: April 2026 (4/26/2026) - North Yorkshire Council throws out plans to expand water bottling facility into a community woodland Councillors recently rejected proposals put…
  • Newsletter: March 2026 (3/27/2026) - European toads back for breeding season at Heggs Farm Mission tree guard removal complete! Huge thanks (and well done!) to…
  • Newsletter: February 2026 (2/26/2026) - Recent activities We rounded off another very productive tree planting season with projects at two sites in Marske, and are…
  • Newsletter: January 2026 (1/23/2026) - Swallowholme hedge laying Calling all photographers… The Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust (YDMT) and The Garden Rooms at Tennants are inviting…
  • Newsletter: December 2025 (12/23/2025) - Santa tree guard Highlights of our winter volunteering activities so far We’ve had some really enjoyable (and productive) sessions over…
  • Newsletter: November 2025 (11/28/2025) - Grinton Bats seeking sanctuary in England’s churches New research, based on citizen science surveys by the Bat Conservation Trust, estimates…
  • Newsletter: October 2025 (10/31/2025) - Apple Day Hudson House Friends of the Dales launches Eyes on the Skies campaign The Friends of the Dales has…
  • Newsletter: September 2025 (9/19/2025) - Waxcaps on Whitaside, September 2025 Take part in Waxcap Watch 2025 Plantlife has launched its annual Autumn Waxcap Watch and…
  • Newsletter: August 2025 (8/21/2025) - Hay making in Langthwaite Hay making Sustainable Swaledale volunteers have been using small hay cutting machinery to cut a  number…
  • Newsletter: July 2025 (7/23/2025) - Common Blue Heggs Farm Local Nature Recovery Strategy Consultation North Yorkshire County Council has launched a six-week public consultation on…
  • News: June 2025 (6/6/2025) - Alder naturally regenerating on the flood plain at Heggs Farm Potting on Day: 21st June, The Hub @ St Mary’s…
  • News: May 2025 (5/16/2025) - Reeth Surgery Community vegetable beds. Homes for Dales House Birds: request a bird nesting box Though once common, house sparrows,…
  • News: April 2025 (4/25/2025) - Busy building Wingit nest boxes.  Fishermen win legal battle over polluted river Pickering Fishery Association and environmental organisation Fish Legal…
  • News: March 2025 (3/13/2025) - Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust staff and Rosie Page along with Reeth Community Orchard and Sustainable Swaledale volunteers. Free talk and…
  • News: February 2025 (2/11/2025) - Intro text Building Homes for Dales House Birds project Yorkshire Dales Millenium Trust has secured funding from the Heritage Lottery…
  • News: January 2025 (1/19/2025) - Award winning Marrick Bridleway In October 2024, a 1.5 mile (2.5km) footpath from the village of Marrick to Low Oxque…
  • News: December 2024 (12/16/2024) - This month: Big Garden Watch 2025; COP29 outcomes;  Fungi: the web of life; Hardy cattle deliver benefits on the farm;…
  • News: November 2024 (11/22/2024) - This month: COP29; Gold awards for Hazel Brow Farm and Marrick Park at TSNC High Nature Value Farming Awards 2024;…
  • News: October 2024 (10/25/2024) - Swaledale waxcaps This month: DalesRunner encourages contributions to Sustainable Swaledale; Dark Skies; Hedgehog survey: help from the comfort of your…
  • News: September 2024 (9/16/2024) - This month: Badger culls to stop in England within 5 years; Environmental news from North Yorkshire Council; Hedge-laying poem; Meadow…
  • News: July & August 2024 (8/16/2024) - Featured this month: Meadow Magic updates; One Acre Meadow one year on – meeting 2nd September; Plot that plastic app…
  • News: June 2024 (7/3/2024) - Swaledale meadow This month: Hedgerow legislation now law; Low Row Open Gardens raised money for Sustainable Swaledale; National Meadows Day:…
  • News: May 2024 (5/24/2024) - Pignut & cuckoo grass in a Swaledale meadow This month read about: Buglife: build a “bee hotel” event;  Great Big…
  • News: April 2024 (4/20/2024) - Buttercup meadow image by Steve Bidmead from Pixabay This month: Butterfly numbers; Dark skies in Yorkshire Dales: lighting advice; Membership…
  • News: February 2024 (2/9/2024) - The Metropol Parasol in Seville, Spain – a remarkable example of wooden architecture. Photo by martine87 from Pixabay Here are…
  • News: January 2024 (1/8/2024) - New tree plugs ready for planting Happy New Year!  Here are a few quick updates on what we’re up to.…
  • News: December 2023 (12/21/2023) - Christmas winter image by Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay AONBs renamed National Landscapes; COP 28: what was agreed?; CPRE…
  • News: November 2023 (11/23/2023) - Newly laid hedge at Low Houses, Swaledale Award success – North Yorkshire Community Awards 2023 – Caring for the Environment…
  • News: October 2023 (11/3/2023) - Lichen image by Uta E. from Pixabay Air quality: policies, proposals and concerns; Lichens for beginners; New eco-labels for household…
  • News: September 2023 (10/6/2023) - Swaledale flower meadow Greenpeace’s Stop the Sewage petition; Hedges masterclass; Lichens for beginners: North Yorks Community Awards: Sustainable Swaledale shortlisting;…
  • News: August 2023 (8/23/2023) - Dales barn image by Andrew Martin from Pixabay Broadrake Meadow Workshop; Brockholes Nature Reserve trialling grazing cows without fences; Mires…
  • News: July 2023 (7/30/2023) - Red Admiral butterfly, image by Ralph from Pixabay Big Butterfly Count; Mires Beck Nursery visit; National Park Protectors Awards 2023:…
  • News: June 2023 (7/6/2023) - Free salad, herbs and veg at the Reeth community beds Black flash reveals swift site: WingIt project in the news;…
  • News: May 2023 (6/1/2023) - Wildflower meadow, Oxnop, Swaledale. Photo: Adam Bradley Bug splatometer: insect monitoring using your car number plate; Coronation Big Help Out…
  • News: April 2023 (4/28/2023) - Swallow’s nest on the Two Dales Bakery nest-cam Ancient trees and woodland pasture; Coronation Big Help Out event at Hudson House…
  • News: March 2023 (3/30/2023) - Photo of beaver by Niklas Hamann on Unsplash Beavers’ dam may stop flooding; Earth Day 2023; Happy Valley; Health benefits…
  • News: February 2023 (2/16/2023) - Photo of stoat by Dr. Georg Wietschorke from Pixabay Buttertubs Pass camping barn refused planning permission; Grinton Book Exchange; Land…
  • News: January 2023 (1/13/2023) - Badgers and the Badgers Trust; Dark Skies Event at Grinton; Fairtrade Fortnight; RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch January 2023; Single-use plastic…
  • News: November 2022 (11/26/2022) - Image by Nico Wall from Pixabay COP27 and climate change: what did get agreed? The 27th annual UN meeting on…
  • News: October 2022 (11/4/2022) - Bison calf first to be born in the wild in the UK for thousands of years; Consultation on the proposed…
  • News: September 2022 (10/7/2022) - Food waste and composting; Government environmental policies and protections under review; Hummingbird hawkmoths; Peat compost to be banned for domestic…
  • News: August 2022 (8/24/2022) - Image by Ralf Schick from Pixabay Beavers helping in the heatwaves; Coast to Coast walk to become a National Trail;…
  • News: July 2022 (7/29/2022) - Arkengarthdale barns makeover; Hawes to Garsdale recreational route; Helping Richmondshire Heat, Eat and Meet; No wolves and lynx under YDNPA…
  • News: June 2022 (6/29/2022) - B-Lines; Log a hog (2); National Meadows Day; Moorland fact check;  Protecting peatland; Together for Trees Project; Wild flowers and…
  • News: May 2022 (5/30/2022) - This month: Chair’s message; Log a hog; Nature for everyone petition; Repair it and wear it; Somerset Levels super nature…
  • News: April 2022 (4/26/2022) - Join the big plastic count 16-22 May; Litter pick update; MoorPeat; Mow free May; Putting aside areas for wildlife is…
  • News: March 2022 (3/28/2022) - Bumblebee recording; carbon neutral beef produced in the YDNP; Demand wilder national parks; Earth Day 2022; IPCC Sixth Assessment Report:…
  • News: February 2022 (2/28/2022) - This month: Curlews: record your first sighting of the year; Fairtrade Fortnight 2022; Flood mitigation schemes; Graze anatomy; Homes for…
  • News: January 2022 (1/18/2022) - Activities planned for 2022; Dark Skies Festival 2022; Queen’s Green Canopy; Richmondshire Climate Action Partnership; Snaizeholme; Together for Trees Project;…
  • News: November 2021 (11/23/2021) - Bird crime; Climate change calculations for the two dales; COP26 summary; COP26: Richmondshire Climate Action Group Festival; Green Christmas stationery; Heating and insulation grants; Low carbon heat pump grants; Meadows; Planning: Yorkshire Dales barns; Tree planting in the two dales – volunteers sought; Trees: Rufus Woods; Trees and squirrels: Snaizeholme
  • News: October 2021 (10/22/2021) - Butterflies and moths in decline – what you can do to help; Environment Action Day, Richmond Climate Action Group event;…
  • News: September 2021 (9/20/2021) - Beavers; COP 26: COP26 – Richmond Climate Action Group events; Dragonflies; Environment Bill progress; Fall into Nature programme by Plantlife;…
  • News: August 2021 (8/13/2021) - Art and the environment; Climate change: UN IPCC report; Community vegetable beds; Côte du Swale; Flower identification; Hen Harrier Day 2021; Planning consultation: local occupancy and barn conversions; Planning: Leyburn hotel and country store; Recycling; Swifts and swallows; Woodland planting; Woodland tree guard removal.
  • News: July 2021 (7/16/2021) - Climate change action; Climate change art; COP26 presidency programme; hedgehogs; Incredible Edible raised beds; litter pick; plastics recycling; swifts; tree identification; water consumption
  • News: June 2021 (6/18/2021) - Climate change through art; Community led action on climate change map and news stories; Incredible Edible beds in Reeth; Lembas wholefood group purchasing scheme; National Meadows Day 2021; Planning: Richmondshire Preferred Options Local Plan 2018-2039; Plantlife’s every flower counts survey; Renaturing Arkengarthdale; Visiting the seaside: the big seaweed watch.
  • News: May 2021 (5/14/2021) - Air pollution controls on burning wood and coal, buses, hedgehogs, Lembas group purchasing scheme, plants, recycling cat food pouches, swifts and swallows, trees.
  • News: April 2021 (4/20/2021) - Buses, climate change, dark skies, gardening, Lembas group buying scheme, natural flood management schemes, recycling, right to repair, Richmondshire Energy…
  • News: March 2021 (3/21/2021) - Climate change, food and gardening, Lembas group buying scheme, planning, trees, wildlife.
  • News: February 2021 (2/17/2021) - Dark skies festival, gardening, membership, planning, together for trees.
  • News: January 2021 (1/22/2021) - Happy New Year from Sustainable Swaledale! This month’s newsletter covers climate change, dark skies festival, food and gardening, planning, together…
  • News: December 2020 (12/22/2020) - News: December 2020: climate change, dark skies, food & gardening, planning and tree planting. Here are a few quick updates on…
  • News: November 2020 (11/13/2020) - November 2020 newsletter
  • News: October 2020 (10/10/2020) - October 2020 newsletter
  • News: September 2020 (8/28/2020) - Our Local Food Map project, updates on Incredible Edibles in Reeth, local recipes and the importance of even tiny patches of wildflowers.
  • News: August 2020 (7/25/2020) - What we've been up to during 'lockdown' - Incredible Edible in Reeeth; lots of local recipes.
  • News: April 2020 (4/16/2020) - Share your recipes and save your seedlings…. Here are a few quick updates on what we’re up to…if you’re on…
  • News: March 2020 (3/9/2020) - Packaging | Call for compost | Tree guards | Water, water everywhere
  • News: February 2020 (2/4/2020) - We talk about making sustainable food choices and reducing food waste, the latest on our Incredible Edible Project, a Dark…
  • News: January 2020 (1/13/2020) - Happy New Year! Here’s a quick update on what we’re up to in the next couple of months… Here are…

Blog post archive

Recipe archive

  • Celeriac and blue cheese soup (3/8/2021) - Celeriac is a good seasonal vegetable for spring time
  • Hedgerow jelly (10/10/2020) - Serve this at Christmas instead of cranberry as it is so much more local... and more delicious! Lovely with meat or even spread on toast.
  • Green tomato mincemeat (9/2/2020) - A traditional Canadian recipe, perfect for making use of those green tomatoes still in the garden or greenhouse which are never going to ripen once you get into October.
  • Lemon posset (8/21/2020) - A traditional creamy lemon dessert which can be made in advance, only requires three ingredients and takes about ten minutes to make.
  • Maids of Honour (7/31/2020) - My grandmother’s aunt Emma (Wilson) ran the bakery in Reeth in the 1940s and 50s. Here is one of our favourites that she made in the shop!
  • Summer Pudding (7/24/2020) - We knew that summer had arrived in our family when we had the first summer pudding of the year
  • Chocolate chip cookies (7/9/2020) - The best supermarket-style chocolate chip cookie recipe.
  • Yorkshire Wensleydale cheese and onion tart (6/29/2020) - A family favourite... head over to the Wensleydale Creamery in Hawes, try their cheeses and choose your favourite to include in this delicious tart.
  • Swaledale rabbit (6/29/2020) - This bunny-free recipe is a shameless celebration of the wonderful Swaledale Cheese – Wensleydale’s smarter brother.
  • Yorkshire curd tart (6/13/2020) - A local recipe for Yorkshire Curd Tart, from the archives of the Millennium Exhibition held at Reeth Memorial Hall
  • Traditional Swaledale recipes (6/10/2020) - A collection of traditional local recipes from the 'Yorkshire Federation of Women's Institutes recipe book'.
  • Homemade ice cream (5/28/2020) - A simple and reliable homemade ice-cream recipe, delicious on a hot summer's day.
  • Green Tomato Chutney (5/17/2020) - A very simple-to-make chutney recipe.
  • Elderflower cordial (5/15/2020) - A summery cordial which can be made with local Swaledale elderflowers.
  • Sloe gin and truffles (5/15/2020) - A lovely gin and truffles combination that both use local Swaledale sloes.
  • Blackberry Ketchup (5/9/2020) - A great foragers recipe for making most of that autumn glut of blackberries.
  • Flapjacks (5/9/2020) - A flour-free flapjack recipe, so handy at this time as flour is hard to find!
  • Kitzbühel Special (5/8/2020) - This is typical Alpine food - simple, rich, warming and perfect for a winter's evening. All of the ingredients are available from local producers.
  • Country broccoli (5/8/2020) - This is a hi-veg recipe laced with bacon, for which all of the ingredients grow well in Yorkshire.
  • Thalia’s Chocolate Cake (4/18/2020) - A lovely dairy-free chocolate cake made with store-cupboard ingredients.
  • Puff balls (4/17/2020) - Happy days of warm full tummies with this pud, always served with golden syrup and Birds custard.
  • American Baked Cheesecake (4/17/2020) - Delicious baked cheescake. Best eaten cold, and even better the next day!
  • Lamb Henry (4/17/2020) - This recipe is believed to be originally from Westmorland, and is now a family favourite for a local sheep farmer.…
  • Wild Garlic Soup (4/11/2020) - This recipe is from Penny O’Regan, using a few simple ingredients and helping us celebrate the amazing taste of wild…
  • Nettle soup (4/7/2020) - This recipe for nettle soup is from the River Cottage Cookbook. You can use any wild/spring greens and mix in lettuce, peas etc. Uses rice as a thickener. Tasty and nutritious!