the beautiful Nethergill Farm
....on Saturday myself and 5 other lucky folk ventured over to Nethergill Farm (...just down the track/over the hill from me) for the first of their series of 'Wild Workshops' ...all about River life and conservation. Chris and Fi at Nethergill have created a beautiful environment to learn about and share the amazing work they are doing to create and promote sustainable farming here in the Uplands of the Yorkshire Dales. Take a look at their website (see 'links' below) for lots more details about what they offer, but the brand new Field Studies Centre, landscape and lovely hospitality was perfect for the workshop.
...observing and sampling from the river bed....
Dan and Ed from the Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust ran the workshop. In the 'classroom' we learnt about the work of the Trust, the current issues threatening river life and then the work being done to tackle these....Then it was out in the amazing sunshine to 'survey' half a mile or so of Nethergill river, with added input from Chris about other ways the work being done at Nethergill is promoting and linking to river conservation (we saw otter poo!)....after that we spent time having a good look in the water at the life on different sections of river bed (rock, silt etc) and took samples of what we found back to the classroom to look more closely under the excellent 'magnifier linked to big screen' setup.......
Karen, doing an excellent job of supervising the willow bundling!
...fantastic growth of willow from bundles sited along the banks at Nethergill last year.....
........after (a very yummy) lunch and tea drinking it was back out to make and site willow bundles ...I was so impressed by this, (already being really successfully used at Nethergill), easy and effective method of river bank erosion control.......in addition, the willow also creates; Beneficial habitats for river life, birds, mammals, insects; Shelter and shade; ...and of course a crop for building with, craft work, fuel, animal feed etc....
...siting the willow bundles...(using wire and posts...)
....also creating essential habitats and the really important role of regulating the temperature of the water in sun are trees, which are all too often missing from our agricultural landscapes, due to grazing animals......Our last activity of the day was to plant some trees (in secure guards...to protect from Nethergill's cows and sheep...and also wild deer) to add to the already impressive riverside planting carried out as part of the conservation plan ........then it was back to the classroom for some reflection time about the day, while consuming more tea and cake.....
Pip....a key member of the Nethergill team....and a great role model for swift river crossing..
...the day really got my mind twirling, not only during the reflection/feedback time, but in the days since.... I spend a lot of time and energy considering the earth/soil and air, in my thinking and work, but I really don't give water, especially the becks and streams on the land I live and work on, enough of my detailed attention. Dan and Ed had SO much knowledge and motivation about their work to teach and share.......one particular thought I am going to expand on is how like a forest structure the river is...it needs rotting wood, leaves etc to create the optimum environment for its healthy abundance to be generated.
So an excellent day...great learning, fab people, amazing location......i'll be back...'Peat' is next on the my list for Wild Workshops to attend at Nethergill...cant wait!
Very useful links....
Nethergill Farm
http://nethergill.co.uk
Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust
www.yorkshiredalesriverstrust.com
So an excellent day...great learning, fab people, amazing location......i'll be back...'Peat' is next on the my list for Wild Workshops to attend at Nethergill...cant wait!
Very useful links....
Nethergill Farm
http://nethergill.co.uk
Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust
www.yorkshiredalesriverstrust.com
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