October is Free Wills Month

hill and cotton grass

October is Free Wills Month, which means that members of the public aged 55 and over have the opportunity to have their simple Wills written or updated free of charge, using participating solicitors in locations across England, Northern Ireland and Wales. If you, like us, love the Yorkshire Dales then we ask you to please … Read more

Team Building with a Conscience

Friends of the Dales staff, trustees and volunteers recently came together for a day to remove some 2000 redundant plastic tree shelters from a private woodland near Long Preston in the Yorkshire Dales. A worthy (and wet!) endeavour, since without radical changes to the way we plant trees, the two billion plastic shelters that are … Read more

An invitation to organisations to become Community Supporters

People walking in a nature reserve

It is important to us that our Business / Group Membership is as useful as possible to your organisation, to us − and to the Yorkshire Dales, so we have made some exciting changes to it. From 1 April organisations can become Community Supporters, a scheme open to all environmentally minded businesses and ‘not for profits’ to … Read more

Now is the time to leave a lasting legacy for nature

Friends of the Dales and 47 other environmental and recreation organisations have signed a letter prepared by our colleagues at Campaign for National Parks, calling on the Government to accept amendments to the Levelling Up Bill for greater nature protection in National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in England. This latest call comes … Read more

Access for all

Access to, in and around the Yorkshire Dales for all, no matter where a person lives or their mobility should be available to everyone. Yet, for many reasons, progress in resolving some of physical and cultural barriers that exist continues to be problematic. Our own policy, entitled Countryside Access states that people have a right … Read more

What does the #AttackOnNature mean for the Yorkshire Dales?

The Government’s recent announcement (threat!) to amend or scrap crucial environmental laws protecting the UK’s most vulnerable wildlife and green places affects all of us. If they come to fruition, the removal of such protections will not only directly and adversely affect nature but will potentially strangle plans for improved carbon capture, compromise food security and … Read more

From Peat to Paddling – now online

Our sell out 2022 conference debating the true health of our UK rivers, with a special emphasis on the River Wharfe, is now available to view online. Six dedicated films feature the key highlights and takeaways for each of our guest speakers: Prof Rick Battarbee, Emeritus professor of environmental change at University College London and … Read more

The National Parks speak with one voice

We were delighted to join an alliance of National Park Societies and campaigning organisations, including Campaign for National Parks (CNP) in a joint Declaration, calling on governments in England and Wales to give Protected Landscapes (National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty) their full backing in legislation. The statement was agreed at the National … Read more

National Park campaigners call for ban on plastic tree guards as Government considers banning other types of single-use plastic

trees and tree guards

Campaign for National Parks, Friends of the Dales, Friends of the South Downs and nine other National Park Societies have joined forces to call for a ban on plastic tree guards. The campaign coincides with a Defra call for evidence over problematic single-use plastics – which the National Parks campaigners have responded to, highlighting the ongoing issue … Read more