News: February 2023

Many of our projects are dependent on support from a range of organisations, either in terms of funding or practical advice and support . We are currently receiving funding from the following bodies:

Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust (YDMT).  The charity works on environmental projects and encourages community engagement with the environment.  The organisation was the sponsor of the Together for Trees planting season 2021-2022 and is the current sponsor of the Local Tree Nursery project which is being run by Carol Douglas. Find out more about the YDMT’s activities on their website.

Tees Swale: naturally connected. This is a project funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund with the aim  of collaborating with farmers and landowners across an 845 sq km area to put farming at the heart of nature and nature at the heart of land management. The main partners are the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority and the North Pennines AONB.   Tees Swale: naturally connected is the sponsor of the 2022-2023 Together for Trees planting season and the Meadow Magic project, through Crista Nelson. More information on the project can be found on the project website,

Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (YDNPA) are responsible for managing the Yorkshire Dales National Park and setting out ambitions for how the National Park will be looked after over the next 5 to 10 years.  The YDNPA offer grants for projects through their Sustainable Development Fund (SDF) to support schemes that promote a more sustainable way of living in, working in and visiting the National Park, while conserving and enhancing its local culture, wildlife, landscape and communities.  Sustainable Swaledale first secured SDF funding for the Incredible Edible project at Reeth Surgery  and more recently for the WingIt project supporting swifts, swallows and martins. More information on the Sustainable Development Fund can be found on the YDNPA website. As well as funding support, we have received a lot of practical advice and support from the local YDNPA Rangers.

2023 will see  a new partnership venture with Dalesrunner, run by Simon and Jess, including race winners getting trees planted with a dedication plaque rather than medals. Look out for further information in the next few months.

We have also worked with a number of other organisations supporting their projects. Sustainable Swaledale members have helped with a number of projects on the Heggs-Castle renaturing project in Arkengarthdale – whose volunteer projects were listed by the Guardian as an  ideal no fly travel destination for January. One project involved volunteers helping the Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust (YDRT) build leaky dams as part of natural flood management at the Heggs Castle cluster. The Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust is a charity working to improve and protect the rivers and catchments of dales rivers by working with communities to help rivers and wildlife to thrive. More on the YDRT projects can be found on the YDRT website and information on the renaturing projects at Heggs along with blogs can be found on the Heggs-Castle website.

We have also worked with the Richmond Climate Action Partnership, which aims to bring together local communities to help address the climate change emergency. More on the work of the Richmond Climate Action Group can be found on the RCAP website. 

Sustainable Swaledale members are hoping to volunteer with the Yorkshire Peat Partnership (YPP) on their peatland restoration projects this year, The stated aims of the Partnership are to rewet, replant and restore all of Yorkshire’s upland peatlands needing restoration by 2035.  More on their projects including restoration of Fleet Moss can be found on YPP website.