Header photo ‘Hedge springing back to life along the Swale Trail with new Sustainable Swaledale sign’.
Main photo ‘Spring flora in Arkengarthdale taken by John Cartwright, Swallowholme’.
Fundraising appeal launched to save Red Squirrel sanctuary near Hawes
The Woodland Trust has launched a £5m fundraising campaign to acquire 348 acres (141 hectares) of Snaizeholme Valley, near Hawes, which could help support the native red squirrel population. The land, where red squirrels already roam and forage, has been temporarily secured thanks to the help of a “sympathetic organisation”, giving the charity two years to raise the money. Read more on BBC News.
Volunteers complete 100-hole Sand Martin ‘Hotel’ on Bolton Hall Estate
Around 40 local volunteers joined the Bolton Hall Estate’s gamekeeping team in their efforts to save a long-established colony of sand martins after Environment Agency riverbank works threatened their traditional nesting site. Together they constructed a 100-hole replacement nesting wall beside the River Ure, carefully finishing it with a mud coating designed to imitate the sandy riverbanks the birds naturally burrow into. Read more on Richmondshire Today.
New investment announced to support people, places and nature across Yorkshire Dales National Park
A wide range of practical projects to improve access to, support communities in and enhance the natural environment of the Yorkshire Dales National Park have been approved as part of the YDNPA 2026/27 Action Plan. These include more opportunities for young people to upskill and connect with the outdoors; the continuation of the highly successful Farming in Protected Landscapes programme for a further three years; new programmes to support farmers and land managers adopt sustainable and regenerative farming practices; and new investment to create and extend important, wildlife-rich habitats and support species recovery. Read more on the YDNPA website.
River Swale awarded Designated Bathing Water status
The Department of Environment and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has announced that part of the River Swale in Richmond, North Yorkshire is one of 13 sites to be awarded the sought-after Designated Bathing Water Status—a fantastic achievement for the members of campaign group, Save Our Swale (SOS) who have been working on this for more than two years.
This means that the Environment Agency now has to regularly test the river water quality for bacteria between May 15 and September 30, and publish their findings, allowing the public to make an informed decision about using the river. If found to be ‘poor’ or ‘sufficient’, officials will also have to investigate pollution sources and take steps to improve the water quality. Read more on The Northern Echo.
Hope Moor Wind Farm consultation now open
The consultation period for stage one of the Fred Olsen Renewables proposal for a wind farm on Barningham and Kexwith Moors has opened, and continues until 30 June. The developer will consider public feedback alongside surveys and assessments and will then publish an initial update summarising key themes, which will then feed into the stage two consultation. You can find all the consultation documents and a number of maps (theoretical visibility of turbine tips, hydrology, ecology, peat depth etc) in the document store on the project website here: Document library | Welcome to Hope Moor
If you have any questions, the Project Team will be visiting Reeth Memorial Hall again on Saturday 6th June, 10am-3pm. The team will have all the documents on display and will be there to answer any questions.
Sign up for The Wildlife Trusts ‘30 days wild’ challenge
This June, The Wildlife Trusts are inviting everyone to give nature a helping hand by simply noticing the wild on your doorstep. From planting wildflowers for bees and listening to bird song, to letting a corner of your garden grow a little wilder and free activity sheets for under 5s, their ‘30 days wild’ campaign includes tons of ideas for ways to spend your wild month. Sign up to receive your free activity pack in the post and by email on The Wildlife Trusts website.
More than 77,000ha of wildlife-rich habitat restored across England since January 2023
Defra and Natural England have published their annual report setting out progress toward the Environment Act target of restoring or creating more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat by 2042. The report shows that progress has accelerated with more than 77,000 hectares restored across England since January 2023—nearly double last year’s figure—and is consistent with expectations’ to meet the target by 2042. For the first time, the report includes a map showing the distribution of habitat creation (including several hotspots in and around the Dales), providing better insight into connectivity. Read more on the Natural England website.
Yorkshire Wildlife Trust wins funding to make flagship nature reserves more sustainable and accessible
The National Lottery Heritage Fund has awarded £225,000 to Yorkshire Wildlife Trust to make its four flagship nature reserves—Spurn, Potteric Carr, North Cave Wetlands and Stirley—more sustainable and accessible. These reserves are both vital spaces for nature to thrive; and also important spaces where people across Yorkshire can connect and be inspired by its natural heritage. The project will help the Trust to develop a ‘Greenprint’ framework that models what nature’s recovery could look like, whilst also serving as vital green space for their local communities. Read more on the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust website.
Blossoming amongst spoil heaps: The rare grassland where plants thrive in heavy metal-polluted soils
Calaminarian grassland is a rare habitat where plants thrive in soils contaminated by heavy metals. But should these toxic meadows be protected or allowed to fade away? Dr Ruth Starr-Keddle, a botanist at the North Pennines National Landscape and lead botanist on the Tees-Swale: naturally connected project, has been looking into how plants adjust to river catchments polluted by historical mining, as we have in Swaledale and Arkengarthdale. Read more on The Guardian.
Free Friends of the Dales Wildlife Events
Booking is now open for two free Friends of the Dales wildlife events, led by experts in their fields:
- Birds and Nature Walk at Malham: A gentle two-mile circular walk led by Ian Court, Wildlife Conservation Officer for the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, Wednesday 17 June, 10:00-16:00.
- Wildlife Photo Walk with the Walking Photographer: An immersive ‘golden hour’ photo walk led by British Wildlife Photography Award winner Rich Bunce at the 2,500-acre Broughton Sanctuary, Wednesday 1 July, 19:15-21:30.
For more details and booking visit the Friends of the Dales website.
Yorkshire Peat Partnership exhibition at Nethergilll Farm
If you wish to see the artwork produced by the group from Sustainable Swaledale that attended the Peat Partnership visit to Nethergill Farm earlier in the spring, the exhibition is now open daily during daylight hours, and running until the 9th October. Address: Nethergill Farm, Oughtershaw, Buckden nr Skipton BD23 5JS. No booking needed if arriving on foot. If arriving by car, please contact the owners in advance as parking is limited. Email: info@nethergill.co.uk; Phone: 01756 380 581.
Willow ID sessions with Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust
Led by Steve Heaton from Natural England, the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust is hosting three willow ID sessions in July, giving you the opportunity to practise your tree ID skills by getting to grips with a range of rarer species and hybrids. Everyone is welcome at these sessions, no previous ID skills are required and you do not need to have attended the willow hunt sessions held in April/May to come along:
National Meadows Day and annual Potting On event
Sustainable Swaledale will be holding its annual potting on event as part of the National Meadows Day activities at Hazel Brow Farm. The full programme, including a chance to do a guided walk through the meadow, is still to be confirmed but please express your interest now by booking a free place on the Hazel Brow Farm website.
What is potting on? Any seedlings that have germinated from the seeds collected locally over the last 1-2 years (some seeds take two years to germinate) will be extracted from their boxes and planted into root trainers, where they will have a chance to grow into saplings large enough to plant out (hopefully next year). We will also be doing the same with locally collected willow cuttings which may be large enough this autumn/next spring to be planted out. The root trainers will then be placed into one of two tree nursery creches at Hazel Brow, where they will be watered as needed.
Got boxes with seedlings ready to pot on? Please let Margaret know at info@sustainableswaledale.org so that she can gauge how many bags of compost mix and root trainers are needed. (And if you can’t make the event, she can try and collect beforehand).
Had a box for two years and nothing has happened? After two years it is unlikely that anything will now happen so we would welcome having them returned for reuse in the autumn. Alternatively, they can be returned to the tree nursery where they can be held for another year just in case something does come up.
Himalayan Balsam hand pulling sessions
Hard to imagine given the recent heatwave (!) but the colder spring means that Himalayan Balsam has been slow to make an appearance along the Swale, and so a suitable date for our walk near Healaugh is yet to be confirmed. In the meantime, here are details of some hand-pulling sessions already scheduled for June which you might like to attend (organised by Tees Rivers Trust volunteer, Martha McBarron):
- Tuesday 2nd June, 10:30-12:30pm: Dalton, grazing field above the woods
- Sunday 7th June, 1:30-3:30pm: Gilling West, road bridge
- Monday 8th June, 1:30-3:30pm: Dalton, new deciduous plantation
- Monday 15th June, 10:30-12:30pm: Dalton, new deciduous plantation
- Saturday 20th June, 1:30-3:30pm: Dalton, conifer woods
- Thursday 25th June, 10:00-2:00pm: Big Barney Balsam Bash at Eggleston Abbey (hosted by Tees Rivers Trust)
- Thursday 25th June, 1:30-3:30pm – TBC
If you are interested in helping out on any of these dates, please get in touch with Martha for further details: marthamcbarron@outlook.com
Group Meeting
The next group meeting is on Thursday 4th June, 7pm at the Reeth Surgery Tree Nursery where we will be giving a new coat of preservative to the pallet collars, weeding the saplings and reorganising the saplings so that the taller ones, ready for going into their planting sites in November onwards, are all in the same creche. Please dress appropriately to get dirty/paint on your clothes. All tools/paint will be provided.