As we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the National Park movement and 70th anniversary of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, we reflect back on their origins. At the end of the Second World War, the Labour government set up committees to examine long-term land use and ‘nature preservation’ became part of the post-war reconstruction effort. … Read more
Question: When did ‘plantations of plastic’ become the accepted way to plant trees, improve wildlife corridors, bolster riverbanks and capture carbon? Answer: In 1979, when plastic tree guards became the widespread means of protecting sapling trees from being eaten by mammals such as deer, squirrels and voles. Prior to this time, nature decided which trees … Read more
Capturing the Past is the project we set up in 2014 to train people and groups from across the Yorkshire Dales to catalogue and digitise their own local history archives. Ten year on it now hosts 5,000 catalogue records from some 34 large collections and 19 individual contributions, accessible as downloadable photos, wills, parish records, … Read more
This year’s AGM will be held on Saturday 28 September 2024 at Addingham Memorial Hall. We will be offering a short business meeting with a chance for questions afterwards, a complimentary light lunch (donations welcome) and an afternoon guided walk offering the chance to review some of Addingham Environment Group’s conservation and biodiversity projects. All members of Friends … Read more
With the 2024 General Election just a matter of weeks away, it is critical that as many of us as possible use this opportunity to speak up for our National Parks. Despite the National Parks of England and Wales celebrating their 75th anniversary this year, they are under threat like never before with chronic wildlife … Read more
Just imagine the landscapes of Upper Wharfedale and Swaledale with their hundreds of small, isolated field barns being transformed into houses… the whole landscape would be decimated with driveways, parking and connecting roads… In late 2023, we co-signed a letter from the national charity, Campaign for National Parks (CNP) to the Secretary of State for … Read more
In the last 25 years alone (1995-2020) the UK has lost nearly 50% of breeding curlew – with Wales, Northern Ireland and southern lowland England now having almost no breeding curlew left at all. Since the UK is home to about 25% of the entire population of Eurasian curlew, any decline threatens curlew globally, which … Read more
With 2024 marking the 75th anniversary of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949, along with the promise of Westminster election, Campaign for National Parks (CNP), backed by all the National Park Societies of England (of which Friends of the Dales is one), have written to all party leaders in England to … Read more
We were pleased to see the draft Nature Recovery Plan presented to the National Park Authority at their meeting in September. We have written to David Butterworth, CEO to compliment his staff for their hard work in putting this important document together. We’ve also highlighted areas where the draft plan could be strengthened, for example … Read more
Say it is Sunday and you decide to visit the Yorkshire Dales National Park. After a week of hard work you are looking forward to fresh air, quiet, a bracing walk and that uplift of being out in nature. You’ll catch the bus – but you discover that DalesBus is the only service available to … Read more