Holmedale Nature Network
Events
APRIL
What is a Healthy River?, a talk by Charlotte Simmons covering the aspects of a river that are considered when deciding on if a river is healthy or not from the perspective of the Water framework Directive and what to look for in a healthy natural river.
A little more about Charlotte.. "I knew quite early on that I wanted to work in the countryside. I have worked for over 30 years in conservation from agri-environment work on the ground to project management and now I work for the Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust, hosting a the Dales to Vale Rivers Network, the partnership of people and organisations working together across the Swale, Ure, Nidd, Ouse, Wiske, Foss and Wharfe. I want to see healthy rivers with abundant wildlife, valued by communities. "
Tuesday 16th April, 7:30pm
Dalton and Gayles Village Hall. £2.00 donation to include refreshments.
Bumblebee ID course for bee walk volunteers,
led by Catherine Mercer.
Further info:www.bumblebeeconservation.org/beewalk/ Sunday 21st April, 10-2pm.
Foxglove Covert Local Nature Reserve.
No cost.
Booking is essential:
wildwhashton@gmail.com
07969490302
MAY
Meadow Creation, a talk by Catherine Mercer, Yorkshire Dales Millenium Trust
Monday 13th May, 7:30 to 8:30pm, Ravensworth Village Hall
Earby Hall Farm Visit, hosted by Ben and Harry Hoskyns-Abrahall. This is an opportunity to see the benefits of 30 years of biodiversity improvements on their working farm at Newsham. The visit will involve a walk of 2-3 miles and stout footwear is recommended. Children welcome but no dogs please.
Saturday 25th May, 1:00 to 4:00pm, £5 donation per family, refreshments will be provided. Booking is required – please email: wildwhashton@gmail.com
About us
How it all began...Early in 2023 National Highways approached Whashton Parish regarding a potential biodiversity project, to be funded as compensation for loss of habitat resulting from the A66 improvement works. They were seeking a substantial project. Whashton residents Sally Zaranko and Lizzie Rumble organised a meeting to gauge interest from neighbouring communities. The meeting was attended by about 40 people who generated many ideas for potential project activities. A steering group was formed with representatives from each village. Since then, the steering group has been meeting on a regular basis to build the vision and scope of the project. This included carrying out a residents’ survey in late Spring. Results are available as a pdf further down this page.
Who we are... Since our most recent residents meeting our group has expanded and we now have representatives from each Parish willing to volunteer some of their time and skills to the project. Please do feel free to approach your Parish representative with matters regarding the project or email wildwhashton@gmail.com.
Whashton: Janet Clipsham, Lizzie Rumble, Sarah Stoneham.
Ravensworth:Ross Addinall, Matthew Usher.
Kirby Hill and Gayles:Linda Goulbourne.
Dalton: Sue Ley
Newsham:Nicky Oakes, Alison Brown
Barningham: Martha McBarron, Suzy Wilson
Our project scope and vision so far....is for a 4-strand programme extending over 5 years, including capital projects for each parish: e.g., natural flood management, village green pond, new woodland; a farming liaison officer to work with local farmers on medium to long term improvement plans; habitat improvements in our communities: e.g., tree and hedge planting, removal of Himalayan Balsam, litter picking; and activities for individuals: evening talks, training and workshops on topics of interest. Please see the pdf of the presentation given on 20th November 2023 at the residents meeting further down this page.
Updates
There was a good turn out of 28 residents at the meeting on the 20th November 2023 and a few more residents have stepped forward to help out. Thank you to everyone who came along and took part.
We are currently in the process of establishing ourselves as a legally constituted entity that can apply for funding and developing the branding for our group.
In the interim we are running monthly talks and activities. Donations will be requested to cover the cost of venue hire and refreshments. Please see our events section for upcoming events.
In January 2024 , the group launched a series of talks and activities which are open to anyone to attend. January’s talk on Healthy Rivers by Charlotte Simmons of the Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust had to be postponed due to Storm Isha but is now rescheduled for April 16th in Dalton and Gayles Village Hall. Please see events section for further details.
A training course on Watercourse Naturalness Assessment, funded by Natural England and delivered by Josie Neimira of the Freshwater Biological Association, went ahead in Ravensworth on 30 th January with 17 attendees. The training covered a new Citizen Science project which engages volunteers to assess their local watercourses for their current condition and quality. It is particularly focussed on smaller rivers and streams which have not been covered by larger monitoring projects. The aim is to identify and prioritise areas for protection and restoration. Local volunteers are now planning to meet up and come up with a plan on how to carry out these assessments locally with landowner permissions.
Thank you to Rob Clipsham
for the photographs
