Hi my name is Rhi, I’m 14 and I’ve been a Young Ranger since 2018.
At school we’re being asked to think about career choices and one of the jobs I’m considering is a ‘Tree Surgeon’, so I really enjoyed this session where we learnt about trees and practiced forest management skills.
On Saturday we went to Hebden to cut down some Ash trees and plant new trees. As we learnt from the leader Cat, some of the Ash trees were diseased and we needed to cut them down. We learnt that the disease was called Ash Dieback and we did not want that same disease to spread and affect the other Ash trees nearby.
We were instructed to cut down the Ash trees that had been marked with a white painted dot, which meant they had been affected by Ash Dieback. We cut up the affected trees into smaller parts and put them in a pile to be taken away. We kept doing this until lunch and we were grateful to stop for yummy food! We also listened to great Christmas songs, ate mince pies and drank lovely warm drinks. After lunch we took the plastic guards off the grown trees that were more hardy and weren’t going to be eaten by other wild life.
For the next task we got a bag of smaller, disease free trees and dug holes to plant these new trees. We reused the old tree guards, as long as they weren’t too damaged, and used them to protect the new trees so they won’t be eaten by wildlife which means more trees and this means cleaner air!
Here’s a link that explains Ash Dieback and how it affects trees if you’re interested!
I really enjoyed this session and I can’t wait to do another one where I can learn even more!
Want to find out more?
If you would like to come along to any of the meetings, please get in touch with Catherine Kemp, Education & Events Manager, on learning@yorkshiredales.org.uk or 01756 75164. You can follow the Dales Young Rangers on Facebook
The North and West Young Rangers groups are funded by BIG Lottery Fund through the Green Futures partnership programme led by Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust. Green Futures aims to empower and support young people in the Yorkshire Dales and the surrounding area to become more involved, aware and connected to the fantastic natural environment that’s right on their doorstep.
Green Futures is part of Our Bright Future, a £33 million programme funded by the Big Lottery Fund and run by a consortium of eight organisations which is led by The Wildlife Trusts. Our Bright Future aims to tackle three big challenges facing society today – a lack of social cohesion, a lack of opportunities for young people and vulnerability to climate change.
The Young Rangers group based in the South of the National Park is being part-funded through Stories in Stone, an ambitious four-year programme of conservation and community projects concentrated on the Ingleborough area developed by the Ingleborough Dales Landscape Partnership. The scheme is led by Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust and supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund.