Award winning Marrick Bridleway
In October 2024, a 1.5 mile (2.5km) footpath from the village of Marrick to Low Oxque was upgraded to a bridleway with the voluntary agreement of the three landowners: Julia Carr, Sylvia Close and Caroline Close. The change means that cyclists and horse riders can now use the route providing an alternative to the main road. A new permissive footpath, connecting to the bridleway, has also been established through the newly created Upper Lynchetts Wood, at Marrick Park.
Ranger Michael Briggs and Rights of Way Officer Sheila Roberts from the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (YDNPA) were presented with the British Horse Society (BHS) Lady Elizabeth Kirk Award for the dedication of a bridleway. The BHS cited “Their commitment to the work involved in establishing the Marrick Bridleway deserves to be recognised, and it will now be enjoyed by future generations, not only on horseback, but on foot and cycle as well.”
Source: YDNPA press release at https://tinyurl.com/2s4hy4nf
Have global emissions peaked?
The Environment Editor of the Economist magazine believes that CO2 emissions may have peaked in 2024, having risen for the previous three years. Rich democracies have been reporting falling emissions for a decade but it looks as if emissions are now falling in China which accounts for 30% of the planet’s total emissions. If true, this is good news for us all as the International Panel on Climate Change, the UN body that monitors climate science, determined that 2025 was the last year a peak could happen if the world is to have a good chance of keeping global temperature rises within the 1.5-2°C limits agreed in the Paris agreement
Source: Economist: https://tinyurl.com/3tv45d8v
The European Copernicus Service has revealed that 2024 was both the hottest year on record and the first complete year for the global average temperature to exceed 1.5 by reaching 1.6 C above pre-industrial levels.
Source: BBC article
Record year for wind power generation in 2024
The National Energy Sector Organisation (NESO) has reported that more power production came from wind in 2024, with wind alone providing 60% of power for 10 days in December. Clean electricity (defined by the government as renewables, such as wind, solar, hydropower and bioenergy, as well as nuclear power) generated around 56% of Great Britain’s electricity in 2024. Figures exclude small scale providers at a local level.
Source: BBC article 7/1/2025: https://tinyurl.com/4cbcs8h5
Yorkshire Dales Photography competition
The Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust and Tennants have announced the return of their photography competition celebrating the beauty and character of the Yorkshire Dales. The winning 35 entries will be displayed in Tennants (17-29 June) with the 12 best being used for the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust 2026 calendar. Deadline for entries is 25 April. Details on the Tennants website: https://tinyurl.com/3fdxbyvd
Clickable links available via the Sustainable Swaledale website.
Tree planting season 2024/2025
Sustainable Swaledale started the new year with a New Years’ Day task involving the planting of a riparian border to consolidate the river bank, some additional trees to thicken an existing grove, and extending a further woodland alongside a footpath at a site in Arkengarthdale. Leaky dams and further planting are planned to help to slow down the flow of a gill into the Arkle and also some hedge laying to renovate an old overgrown hedge.
Completion of a long stretch of hedge laying near Low Houses on the Swale Trail has made the hedge stock proof and allowed the removal of pallets used to fill in gaps (see picture).
Other tasks planned include the removal of redundant tree guards. If you would like to get involved, contact us or look out for details on the Sustainable Swaledale Facebook page. We are grateful to Tees-Swale: naturally connected for funding our activities.
New Opportunities for Farmers to Boost Flood Resilience
Farmers and landowners can now play a crucial role in Ousewem’s expanded flood resilience program, which targets areas including:
- Arkengarthdale
- Masham
- Bellerby
- Bishop Monkton
This follows the previous phase which targeted communities in Appersett, Gayle, Hawes, and Hunton, where further projects continue to be delivered.
Ousewem will continue to deliver natural flood management (NFM) solutions—like wetland creation, leaky dams, and forestry to enhance flood resilience while improving local habitats.
The latest phase reflects a continued evolution of our targeted, collaborative approach to selecting communities. Building on the foundations of previous phases—where hydrological modelling was combined with insights from landowners—the latest catchments were prioritised using evidence, and input from a range of stakeholders, including North Yorkshire Council, Yorkshire Dales National Park, Nidderdale National Landscape, the Environment Agency, Natural England, and Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust. This collaborative and evidence-based process helps focus efforts where the greatest impact will be made.
For local farmers, this is a unique chance to collaborate on tailored NFM projects that align with their land’s characteristics. Ousewem co-designs projects that can unlock new funding opportunities for farmers while fostering more resilient, sustainable landscapes.
Do you have wet/soggy areas of land which are hard to farm in Arkengarthdale, Masham, Bellerby, Bishop Monkton, Appersett, Gayle, Hawes, or Hunton? If this is you, please drop Ousewem’s delivery team an email on ousewemdelivery@ydrt.co.uk. |
This initiative offers broader benefits to local communities, from enhanced resilience to flood risks to improved natural habitats, contributing to a more sustainable future. Building on the success of earlier phases, this work continues to foster strong, sustainable communities and landscapes.
For more information or to explore collaboration opportunities, please contact the Ousewem team at ousewem@york.gov.uk or visit https://www.ousewem.co.uk/.
Tree community events
Dates for a couple of talks coming up in the dale:
Mosses of Upper Swaledale
Sunday 9th March 2025, 13:00-16:00, Keld Resource Centre. Hosted by Sue and Les Knight
Lichens of Upper Swaledale
Sunday 16th March 2025, 13:00- 16:00, Keld Resource Centre. Hosted by Sue and Les Knight
More info and booking page at: www.ydmt.org/seedtosapling
Swaledale & Wensleydale Environmental Farmers Group
Article in Farming Life about the newly formed Swaledale & Wensleydale Environmental Farmers (SWEF) Group who have received a £100,000 National Lottery Heritage Fund grant to help develop the group and fund conservation work. Plans include biodiversity restoration, improving water quality and carbon sequestration. Information on SWEF can be found on their website: https://www.swef.org.uk/
Source: Farming Life
https://www.farminglife.com/country-and-farming/swaledale-wensleydale-environmental-farmers-group-wins-heritage-fund-award-4940592?
Hedge laying
January has been a busy month so far for Sustainable Swaledale hedge layers. One more day has been spent hedge laying on the Swale Trail at Low Houses and this is now nearly finished. We had two teams working last weekend with the hope that we would finish but the hedge can only be laid one way and it is not considered good practice to fell trees on top of another team. A couple of volunteers will go back to do the very last bit. We are grateful to Peter Butler for leading the task, Rachel, Sam, Joe, Rob and Margaret for helping on the day and Martin and Caroline for providing soup and cake.
A more substantial challenge has started laying an overgrown 20 -30 foot high hawthorn hedge in Arkengarthdale. This is a long stretch of hedge so will take some time to complete but the picture below shows that great progress has already been made. Some of the felled trees and brash will be used in building some leaky dams in a hush elsewhere on the site. Peter Butler, who has really got into hedge laying, has again been leading this task with help from John, Peter and Joe.
While laying a hedge causes some short term disruption for wildlife, laying it is one of the best ways of creating more diverse habitats and ultimately allows it to support much more wildlife especially if it continues to be maintained. A number of standard trees will be left to help maintain habitat in the meanwhile.
Reasons to be Cheerful
BBC Radio 4’s ‘Rare Earth’ broadcast today provided an environmental roundup of 2024 and a look forward to 2025 with a good panel.
Sustainable Swaledale Group
Find out more and join in!
Meeting: first Thursday of the month at 7pm. Please contact us for venue details.
Email: info@sustainableswaledale.org Phone: Secretary on 01748 886 381
Facebook Group: Sustainable Swaledale
Website: www.sustainableswaledale.org where you can sign up to our free newsletters, and choose to support us as a member for £10 (£5 concessions) per year.