Are you feeling murderous?

The Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust is holding a Murder Mystery Dinner to raise vital funds for a variety of projects that will benefit the landscape and communities of the Yorkshire Dales. Are you brave enough to come?

We’re inviting all wannabe sleuths to an evening at the The Devonshire Arms Country House Hotel at Bolton Abbey, where you can witness the evidence as an Agatha Christie-style parody unfolds before you. There will also be an opportunity for you to interrogate suspects in order to get to the bottom of the murderous crime that has occurred. After a hot buffet and some final detective work the evening will end with the killer being revealed and trophies awarded to the top sleuths.

We’ll also be holding a raffle, with prizes including an overnight stay at The Devonshire Arms County House Hotel, kindly donated free of charge by the hotel. The prize includes dinner in the Michelin-starred Burlington restaurant and a bottle of wine chosen by the Cellar Master to accompany the meal. In addition there will be the rare opportunity for guests to bid in a mini fundraising auction for one of only six places on an exclusive tour of the Duke of Devonshire’s Bolton Abbey Estate. Telephone bids for this special auction are also welcome in advance.

David Sharrod, YDMT Director says, “We’re very grateful to The Devonshire Arms and to the After Dark murder mystery company for making this event possible. This promises to be an unforgettable evening with delicious food, singing, dancing, an array of madcap suspects and a confounding crime to solve. So join us to see if you can solve the deadly mystery, and maybe even be crowned Super Sleuth! Places are limited, so please get in touch to book your tickets soon.”

The event will take place at The Devonshire Arms Country House Hotel, Bolton Abbey on Thursday 15^th March, starting at 7pm.  Tables and individual tickets are available to book now. Tickets cost £25 per person including a hot buffet. For ticket sales, auction bids and more information please contact Sarah at Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust on 015242 51002 or email media@ydmt.org

All money raised will help YDMT to continue work such as restoring wildflower meadows, planting new native woodlands, supporting local businesses, education and outreach work, and providing training programmes for young local people to learn countryside management skills.

A year of YDMT blogging – 2011 in review

 

Here’s an excerpt:

This blog was viewed about 1,700 times in 2011.

Click here to see the complete report.

Skipton Systems support woodland restoration

Skipton-based IT support and solutions company Skipton Systems has joined forces with YDMT to plant trees in the Dales.

Skipton Systems www.skiptonsystems.co.uk will dedicate one new native broadleaf tree for every client taking out a new 12 month ‘BusinessCover’ support contract with them. The company offer a range of IT and web services and solutions. Richard Pettifer, Director of Skipton Systems says, “We are proud to be based in Skipton; the Gateway to the Dales, and we are keen to do our bit in keeping this wonderful landscape as beautiful as possible.  Our partnership with the Trust will enable us – and our clients – to make a real difference to the future of the area.  I hope that we will be planting many trees together with the Trust over the coming months.”

Saplings at Harrison's Wood - YDMT's new Supporter Woodland

YDMT Director David Sharrod added, “We will look forward to inviting Skipton Systems and their clients to join us next year to see the progress of the trees and the new woodland that they have helped to fund and make possible.”

The trees will be located in Harrison’s Wood, YDMT’s newest Supporter Woodland, situated in the beautiful Nidderdale countryside near Pateley Bridge.  Covering 6.3 hectares, the site has been planted with a mixture of native species including large proportions of Hawthorn (15%), Ash (12%) and Downy Birch (10%).  If you own a business and would like to support woodland restoration and other vital projects in the Yorkshire Dales, please contact Lindsay Wallace on 015242 51002 or email lindsay.wallace@ydmt.org

 

 

 

 

Fancy a two-month paid placement with YDMT?

Are you interested in working for the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust and getting paid for your time?

The World of Difference UK programme, delivered by the Vodafone Foundation, has given hundreds of people the opportunity to donate their time to their favourite charities and get paid. This year they’re giving another 500 people this special opportunity and we’d love you to apply.

As well as full-time two-month placements, this year people can consider part-time placements over a four-month period (minimum 15 hours per week).

If you’re interested, please get in touch and we can have a chat about the roles we need help with and discuss how your skills could help. If you’ve always wanted to donate your time, why not find out more? Call now us now on 015242 51002 and ask for Sarah Brewer.

Applications open on 26 September and close on 22 November with placements starting early March 2012. Visit vodafone.co.uk/worldofdifference to apply.

Business promotion CAN be eco-friendly!

Check out the fabulous range of promotional products and stationary (including an Eco-Friendly selection) from MWA Promotional – our newest corporate supporter!

For every £175 you spend, MWA Promotional will plant a new native broadleaf tree in the Dales on your behalf through YDMT!

So now you can order your branded stationary supplies and promo gifts whilst doing your bit to support tree planting in the Yorkshire Dales!  Huge thanks to MWA Promotion and their customers for their support.

This is a chance for you to play a key role in creating a new woodland which will provide spaces for people to enjoy and habitats that support hundreds of species of wildlife, as well as helping to create a greener planet by absorbing carbon.

Find out more at http://www.mwapromotional.co.uk/ and check out the press release here.

Harrogate Ladies’ College raise £170 for YDMT!

Students and teachers at Harrogate Ladies’ College raised a fabulous £170 for YDMT during their Go Green Week recently.

Fundraising activities included the girls paying £1 to wear green for the day, a “No Power Hour” where the college switched the lights and computers off for an hour over lunchtime, green themed assemblies and a green lunch (not literally!).

All together the week raised a cool £170 for YDMT which will play a vital part in enabling the Trust to continue to help care for the landscape, economy and people in this very special place – the Yorkshire Dales.  Thank you so much Harrogate Ladies’ College!!

Harrogate Ladies’ College teacher Mrs Chestnutt commented “I wanted to choose a local green charity to support, and YDMT’s work really interested the girls - they particularly liked the idea of planting trees.”

Go Green Week is a national event organised by the GSA (Girls’ School Association).

What would you do with £50,000?

Calling all community activists!

Have you got an innovative idea to tackle the crime issues that really affect your local community?

The “Community action against crime: Innovation fund” encourages creative new approaches to tackling crime. The fund is worth £5 million in England in 2011/12, with a further £5 million set aside for 2012/13. Applications are being welcomed from voluntary and community groups in North Yorkshire and the East Riding of Yorkshire in an effort to see the region take full advantage of the funding available.

The scheme is funded by the Home Office and will be delivered by the Community Development Foundation (CDF).

It is hoped that the scheme will encourage effective community partnerships to get everybody working together to develop and deliver innovative approaches to tackle the local crime issues that really matter to them.

Voluntary and community groups can apply for funding of between £1,000 and £50,000 for innovative projects that will deliver lasting benefits in tackling local crime issues, with a particular focus on antisocial behaviour, drug/alcohol related crime, violence, youth crime and reducing re-offending.

Examples of the type of innovative projects that could qualify for funding include a community art programme created in partnership to tackle graffiti, or a drama group set up to reduce youth crime by involving young people in the community in a creative way.

The Fund is open to applications from now until 1st December 2011 via CDF. Applications from grassroots community activists who are not traditional recipients of government grants are particularly encouraged.

YDMT has been asked to publicise the funding in the local area, and also to form a cross-regional panel which will assess all the applications received for the areas of North Yorkshire and East Riding.

His Honour Peter Charlesworth is Chairman of the newly formed Crime Innovation Fund panel and is also a YDMT Trustee. He commented “This is a wonderful opportunity for local people to tackle the crime issues that really affect their local community head on. I’m hopeful that we will receive many innovative community-led applications that will see us securing as much money as possible for the North Yorkshire and East Riding regions to challenge crime at a local level through community activism.”

To find out more about eligibility and the online application process please contact CDF on 02078 331772 (choosing option 3) or email crime.innovation@cdf.org.uk.
Alternatively visit http://www.cdf.org.uk/web/guest/crime-innovation-fund for more information.

Meeting the Minister!

Last week was very exciting as YDMT met Richard Benyon, MP and Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Natural Environment and Fisheries.

Richard met with us and the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (YDNPA) whilst he was in the Dales, and we explained the unique relationship between YDMT and YDNPA.  – It is a special and important partnership which has brought about many beneficial projects and developments.

Some of the issues currently affecting the Yorkshire Dales were also discussed, including sustainable energy… The group visited Linton Falls Hydro scheme – a project which was funded by the Sustainable Development Fund (SDF) which provides grants to individuals, businesses, local authorities and community groups to fund sustainable new business ideas and community projects in our National  Parks.  The fund was launched in July 2002 and is funded by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). Here in the Yorkshire Dales, SDF is managed by YDMT on behalf of the YDNPA (an example of our partnership in action).

The current state of economic difficulty and the changing face of funding were discussed, and the Big Society agenda and how it might impact on the future of the Dales were considered.

… Overall, a very interesting and useful meeting.  We’ll keep you posted on any developments!

A Day In The Life…. of a Dales Countryside Trainee

One of YDMT’s most innovative and life-changing projects is the Dales Countryside Trainee scheme.

In the Dales it’s becoming increasing difficult to find people with skills necessary for the long term care of our upland environment. Combined with this we’re seeing a dramatic loss of 16-24 year olds as rural communities try to adapt to rapidly changing economics.

So in June 2010 YDMT launched the Dales Countryside Trainee scheme to help meet the urgent needs of young people and to bridge the gap in local skills and knowledge.

In summer 2010 twelve young people started on a programme of vocational training in environmental and countryside management across the Dales. Over the next two years they will gain valuable experience in a 22 month placement with a local employer, learning from skilled practitioners. They will also study for a Level 2 Qualification in Environmental Conservation at Craven College.

One of our trainees is Becky Burton who is carrying out her work placement at the National Trust site Fountains Abbey; a huge estate comprising of the abbey ruins, and 800 acres of natural countryside near Ripon.  She has kindly taken a few minutes out of her day to tell us a bit about what she’s been up to…

October marks a change of the seasons at Fountains Abbey – the deer park is a perfect example.  During the summer I was busy helping with the chain harrowing in the deer park – an important task to renovate the pasture and stimulate new growth.  I learnt how to drive the tractor and also had a go with the chain harrows, which seemed enormous!!

Chain Harrowing

Now, as summer draws to a close, I’m involved with the autumn and winter tasks.  From October through ’til April we feed the 550 deer in the park a mixture of extra carrots, fodderbeet and hay bales to keep them going.  This often involves shovelling 2-4 tons out of the trailer per day in the snow, rain and wind!  It’s a job I helped with last winter - just after Christmas the public were invited to watch the feeding of the deer (an event known as ‘on the hoof’), where the deer warden would give a talk and answer any questions whilst a team of volunteers and I fed the deer.  By April, the grass should have started to grow and the feeding will be over for the year.

Feeding deer with fodderbeat and hay

A little while ago John Horrigan (the Deer warden) and I were invited to attend a wardens meeting at Hadriens Wall, at the National Trust property there known as ‘Housesteads’.  The property includes 6 miles of wall and a Roman Fort.  The morning was spent listening to a variety of presentations, ranging from one on the new consultancy in the National Trust and one to wildlife seen in the area at National Trust properties.  In the afternoon we were split into groups and set a challenge; we had make a fire out in the open using materials we’d collected from across the estate.  We were given some corn to make into popcorn and some wheat and water to grind down and make bread. We then cleared the site so that no one could tell we had been there and headed home!

Wardens Meeting

Find out more about the Dales Countryside Trainees scheme here.

See how our woodlands have grown

Today’s been a gorgeous sunny day in the Yorkshire Dales – perfect for a trip out to see how some of our woodlands are doing…

We visited Westgate Farm Wood – our Supporter Wood planted in 2004 – and Thornbrook Wood – our 2006 Supporter Wood – both located in Thornton in Lonsdale, at the western edge of the Yorkshire Dales national park.

The trees in both woods are doing really well – many are taller than me! – and the areas of saplings we planted 5-7 years ago are now starting to look like proper little woods, casting areas of dappled shade and creating a habitat for wildlife.

Westgate Farm Wood, Sept 2011

Each tree in our Supporter Woodlands has been planted on behalf of, or in memory of, someone special.  Every year people with a passion for the Dales choose to Dedicate a tree in the Yorkshire Dales through our Tree Planting scheme.  It’s a unique way to celebrate a birthday, christening, wedding or anniversary.  With prices starting at just £10 per tree, its a gift that will grow and grow; and it doesn’t cost the earth.

In spring this year we planted our millionth native broadleaf tree - a real milestone which was made possible thanks to the donations of our supporters and business partners.

Trees growing strong at Thornbrook Wood

Thornbrook Wood alone is made up of 7,975 native broadleaved trees and shrubs covering 3.75 hectares.  The species planted here include Oak, Rowan, Alder, Birch, Wild Cherry, Field Maple, Goat Willow, Crab Apple, Holly, Hazel, Guelder Rose, Hawthorn, Blackthorn and Dogwood.  The trees were all individually protected with tree guards when we planted them to prevent rabbit damage, and it seems to have done the trick – walking round today we were delighted to see that the vast majority of the trees are healthy and growing strong.

If you’d like to find out more about dedicating a tree, visit our website. Our current Supporter Woodland is Harrison’s Wood located near Pateley Bridge.