Wed 17 Jan
19.00

YWT Work party at Salt Lake Quarry, near Ribblehead (Grid Ref SD 774 784) Scrub Clearance. All tasks run from 10am – 4pm. Please wear clothing suitable to the task and ensure you bring appropriate layers for all weather! Please also bring enough food and drink to last the day.

The YWT workpary days are marked in yelow here.

There is very limited roadside parking at these YWT reserves. Please aim to meet on foot at the grid references given for 10am. If you would like more information please contact: graham.standring @ywt.org.uk (07795 644123) or andrew.cochrane@ywt.org.uk (07787 535784)

Mon 29 Jan
19.30

Rewilding A presentation by Dr Steve Carver, Senior Lecturer at Leeds University and Director of The Wildland Research Institute (WRi).
Steve has worked extensively on the development of wild land mapping and evaluation methods. Beavers in Britain and Pine Marten in Dalby Forest, should we be rewilding parts of the Dales?
At Townhead Court (across the road from Townhead Surgery) in Settle, entrance £3 for non-members and £1 for members. All welcome.

Date to be confirmed. Sometime between Feb and April 10:00 – 15:00

Practical Conservation at Cleatop Park Wood Local Nature Reserve
Join us for the day at this local nature reserve. No previous experience needed. We will provide tools and work gloves. The practical work will be light and suitable for a wide range of fitness. Meet at 10.00 at Greenfoot Car Park for a half hour walk from Settle to Cleatop Park Wood. We will be back to Settle for 15.00. The event is run by Craven Conservation Group in partnership with the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority. If you would like further details please contact Dom on 01729 822403 or even better email to dominick@env.leeds.ac.uk.

Bank Newton Meadow Project: This is a project which CCG supports.

Bank Newton Meadow Work Party: from 10.00 am onwards. Please contact Melanie Fryer .-to say you are going and to ask fo directions.

Melanie says: "The work is tidying up brash and stick picking after the winter. I will bring a rake for a new piece that needs raking off. The area around the small gate at the end of the path is very messy with ash twigs which need to be bagged up, ready for me to take away and burn.
Parking is limited so please car share. The postcode is BD23 3NT.

Mon 26 Feb
19.30

Swifts: Illustrated presentation by Tanya Hoare. . At Townhead Court (across the road from Townhead Surgery) in Settle, entrance £3 for non-members and £1 for members. All welcome

Thurs 22 March 19.30

Planning Meeting
All members are welcome to come along to the Meeting Room at the Friends Meeting House, Settle .

Bank Newton Meadow Project: This is a project which CCG supports.

Bank Newton Meadow Work Party: from 10.00 am onwards. Please contact Melanie Fryer .-to say you are going and to ask fo directions.

Melanie says: "The work is tidying up brash and stick picking after the winter. I will bring a rake for a new piece that needs raking off. The area around the small gate at the end of the path is very messy with ash twigs which need to be bagged up, ready for me to take away and burn.
Parking is limited so please car share. The postcode is BD23 3NT

Mon 26 Mar 19.30

"In Our Hands" Film Night. The Land Workers Alliance support small scale food producers and traditional farms. There are many values associated with mixed farms such as food quality / soil health / conservation and animal welfare. Hosted by Melanie Fryer NW Regional Coordinator for the Land Workers Alliance See trailer for the film

Townhead Court (across the road from Townhead Surgery) in Settle, entrance £3 for non-members and £1 for members. All welcome.

Why are the sounds of summer fading away? 7:30pm - 9:00pm
Talk by Nigel Gilligan on the decline of biodiversity with an emphasis on
invertebrates and a warning for the future. Recommended donation £2.50

Organised by Kirkby Lonsdale Local Support Group of Cumbria Wildlife Trust
Bective Room,Lunesdale Hall,Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria, LA6 2BG

The Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union conference will be held on Saturday 7th April 2018 in the Ron Cooke Hub, University of York, on the theme of ‘Non-native species: research, recording and the conservation agenda.’ 

15 April - Note now postponed till autumn

"Wildlife Tracking" Introduction to Wildlife Tracking Skills (originally planned for Cleatop Park), led by Lea Eyre, has now been postponed till summer; We hope to visit Broughton Hall Grounds.

22 April .

13.30pm

Earth Day Litter Clear-Up

Litter clear up on the Ribble, south of Runley Bridge (Grid Ref: SD810621) organised by the Ribble Rivers Trust with the help of Adrian Shepherd of the Long Preston Floodplain Project. To mark Earth Day, 22 April. Meeting at 13:30 on footpath under Runley Bridge.  Please dress in suitable clothing and wear wellies. Gloves and bags will be provided. Children welcome if accompanied by an adult. CCg and other local charities/ organisations are also sending volunteers. Please contact Bjorn Blanchard <bto.yknw.rep@btinternet.com>  if you can help. 

Swifts - - Illustrated talk by
by Tanya and Edmund Hoare

Organised by Kirkby Lonsdale Local Support Group of Cumbria Wildlife Trust
Bective Room,Lunesdale Hall,Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria, LA6 2BG

Suggested donation £2.50 for adults and free for children.
Includes tea and biscuits. NON MEMBERS VERY WELCOME
For further information please call Roger Neale on 015242 41155

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Wed 25 April
10.30

Storrs Common , Ingleton Walk, led by Liz and Roger Neale. Meet at Ingleton Village Square at 10.30am- Bring packed lunch for a full day. Early spring flowers, ferns, old industrial history related to the underlying limestone. Please book by phoning Roger Neale - 01524 241155

Sat 19 May
10.00

Springtime around Bentham
Join David Fisher to explore this lovely area. Meet at Bentham river bridge SD667687. A 5 mile walk exploring woods, meadows and becks. Rocky and uneven ground but without difficult gradients.
Contact David on 01524 261449 to confirm and for further details.

8-11 June

See 1/3 of the British Sedges in three days - course led by Judith Allinson at Malham Tarn Field Centre..

Sat 23 June
10:30

Guided walk for beginners/generalists 10.30-12.30 led by Judith Allinson

YNU VC64 Field Day at Helwith Bridge/ Swarthmoor. - Follow your own interests. Come and tag onto a specialist and learn about flora and fauna of this SSSI (Moths, birds, butterflies, frewhwater life etc)

Meet at the car park on the other side of the road to the Hotel at Helwith Bridge. SD SD810694

There will be a general introduction at 10.30am followed by the option of a "guided walk for beginners" 10.45-12.30 led by Dr Judith Allinson concentrating on flowers but including the soils, geology, sedges, mosses and lichens.

Burns Beck Moss (a Cumbria Wildlife Trust Reserve)
Join Dr Mike Hall of the Cumbria Wildlife Trust for a guided walk around this reserve. A raised mire and valley mire complex. The 2nd SSSI to be designated in Britain, in 1954. Principle interests:- flowers, butterflies and some interesting birds (nesting season). Stunning views. If it has been wet, need wellies or good boots. Bring lunch.
BOOKING ESSENTIAL –. via Liz and Roger Neale 01524 241155.

Thursday 23 Aug

10am-4pm

Insect day at Broadrake Farm (www.broadrake.co.uk)
Come along to find and record as many species as possible at this small 4 acre site, complete with wildlife pond, meadow (under restoration), limestone outcrops, young native trees and lots of grasses, mosses and lichens. Bring a digital camera to record your findings and a picnic to sit and enjoy the views! Broadrake is at SD740792, just a short walk from Ribblehead where there is plenty of parking and circular walk options back to the viaduct. Drop-in event for those on foot, bike or horse.Please call on 015242 41357 if you wish to park at Broadrake, otherwise booking not required.

A Fascination for Fungi
An illustrated talk by Dr Mike Hall a local fungal expert of the N.W. A look at the main fungal groups:- toadstools, bracket fungi and cup fungi.
At St John's Methodist Church, Church Street, Settle. (You can park in the car park beside the petrol garage, walk under the viaduct, ignore the first road on the left, continue straight ahead to the red brick bungalow on the left, turn left and you will see it.),
Entrance £3 for non-members and £1 for members. All welcome.

Yorkshire Wildlife Trusts Ribblesdale Reserves.
An illustrated talk by Graham Standring of the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust.

At St John's Methodist Church, Church Street, Settle. (You can park in the car park beside the petrol garage, walk under the viaduct, ignore the first road on the left, continue straight ahead to the red brick bungalow on the left, turn left and you will see it.),
Entrance £3 for non-members and £1 for members. All welcome.

Sun 28 Oct

and repeated

Sat 3 Nov

Bank Newton Meadow Project: This is a project which CCG supports.

Bank Newton Meadow Work Party: from 10.30 am onwards, and stay as long as you like. Please contact Melanie Fryer .-to say you are going and to ask fo directions.

Melanie says: " Steve and I will be scything so rakers would be great.  We will be burning some brash, taking out some nettles and generally having a good clear up before winter. Bring gloves and a rake if you have one.
Parking is limited so please car share. The postcode is BD23 3NT.

The Ribble Life Project - Illustrated presentation by Ellie Brown, GIS Data & Evidence Officer with the Ribble Rivers Trust, updating the project’s progress since the last visit by a speaker from the RibbleRivers Trust in March 2016.

Ellie can give great insight in to how the Trust uses data and evidence to identify, prioritise and plan their work.

At St John's Methodist Church, Church Street, Settle. (You can park in the car park beside the petrol garage, walk under the viaduct, ignore the first road on the left, continue straight ahead to the red brick bungalow on the left, turn left and you will see it.),
Entrance £3 for non-members and £1 for members. All welcome.

Kirkby Lonsdale Supporters Branch of Cumbria Wildlife Trust Click for events - details from 015242 41155

Yorkshire Naturalists Union (YNU)

Now you can find out about events run by the Yorkshire Naturalists Union (YNU) at their website and by some of the forty or so other natural history societies throughout Yorkshire which are affiliated to the YNU

Natural England

Conservation working parties in Craven Conservation Group local area:

Volunteering for Natural England At Colt Park Barn - usually on Thursdays. Please contact Natural England

See Ingleborough NNR Facebook and Ingleborough NNR Twitter

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust

See Volvox Calendar for details of work at Salt Lake, Southerscales, and and other YWT Reserves

Grass Wood Work Party Days (This is info 2017)

Work parties at Grass Wood (grid ref. SD 985652) Meet at the reserve car park.  Bring gloves and a flask of coffee. We will be doing general maintenance jobs. 
Meet at 9.30am

Please first contact: For more detail of working party activities, contact:

Gordon Jackson gordon39@btinternet.com 01756 796967

The YWT Grass Wood Management committee is also looking to add a few names to the list of volunteers who warden the wood during summer weekends. If you are interested, please contact Gprdon Jackson

For all the dates shown please meet at 09.30 at the Quarry Car Park off Grass Wood Lane (NGR 985652), unless directed otherwise.

The instructions below were given several years ago and may or may not still be relevant:-

(Get more details from Gordon)

The location of the work site will be shown on the reverse side of the YWT notice board for those that arrive later in the day.

Regular volunteers are reminded to bring the tools with which they were issued. A limited range of tools can be loaned to irregulars. Robust working clothes, and lunch for a full day (weather permitting), are also required.

The exact nature of the work will depend on conditions, the number of volunteers present, and the results of contractor's activities. More than one working party may be formed on the day, depending upon priorities and opportunities.

All volunteers are asked to be mindful of health and safety issues and our collective responsibility to each other when working. Do not hesitate to ask questions if there are aspects of our work that you would like explained further or that concern you.

Weblinks you may like

Bradford Botany Group

Rainforest-save.blogspot.com - Judith (webeditors) blog on raising money to save wildlife habitats

North Craven Herigate Trust - Good articles in past issues.

North Craven Historical Research Group - Giggleswick Scar Project

Tony Dilger Photography - TG is a CCG member. Good photos

Conservation and church

Craven Speakers Club, Skipton -

English names of mosses

Friends of Dales Rail

Identifying molluscs- easy online key to garden slugs and snails

Yorkshire Dales National Park Biodiversity Action Plan

Craven District Council Local Biodiversity Action Plan (outside YDNP)

Corio Raptor Care - Providing Care for Sick and Injured Birds of Prey

Harlequin ladybird survey - News- A new ladybird has arrived in Britain . But not just any ladybird: this is the harlequin ladybird, Harmonia axyridis , the most invasive ladybird on Earth.- Look out for sightings in Craven as it comes north.

Sites that link to us:

Horon-in-Ribblesdale Parish website

Wharfedale Naturalists

YNU