Yorkshire Dales Moorland Group raise thousands to build a second forest classroom for children in the Dales

This will be the second outdoor classroom funded by the group as part of its ambition to support primary schools in the Dales and help educate pupils about the countryside which surrounds them.

More than £3,000 was raised for the project at the Hectorkirk Moorland Challenge Cup, the annual working gundog event and charity auction, along with a generous donation from BASC.

The event, which took place before the coronavirus restrictions were put in place, was held at Garsdale Training Ground by kind permission of Hectorkirk Gundogs & Sporting.

Yorkshire Dales Moorland Group co-ordinator, Sonya Wiggins, thanked everyone who gave their time to make the gundog trail event a success adding her congratulations to the competitors and winners.

“Congratulations to Team Vetspec, Team Niccaroz and Team Miles per Gallon who lifted gold, silver and bronze respectively and a special shout out to top scoring dog of the day, FTCH Think Twice Zero to Hero, handled by Nathan Laffey,” she said.

The forest classroom will be built in the grounds of Askrigg Voluntary Controlled Primary School and will be used by pupils at Bainbridge, Askrigg and West Burton. It will also be available to local community groups including scouts and brownies.

“Bringing nature into young lives and the classroom is at the heart of all our efforts,” Ms Wiggins said.

“Without such support and enthusiasm amongst our members within the group and local businesses in our community, valuable education initiatives like our forest classroom simply could not go ahead.

“Once complete, this will be our second outdoor learning facility in the Dales which we are extremely proud of.

“Our first forest classroom at Kettlewell Primary School opened its doors in September of 2018 and has proved a real hit with so many pupils and community groups learning about our precious moorland and the wide array of plants and animals living on their doorstep.”

The Yorkshire Dales Moorland Group was set up in 2016 by gamekeepers to help promote the positive environmental, conservation, economic and social benefits of the moorland management activities taking place on grouse shooting estates within the region.

Moorland owners and gamekeepers in the Yorkshire Dales Moorland Group carry out conservation work on more than 226,000 acres of heather moorland across the area.

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