Youngsters Discover Peak District

Youngsters from Oldham and Rochdale have spent a year getting to know the Peak District as part of two environmental projects.

The 'Youth Reach the Peak' and 'Peak District Farming' projects are both run by  Groundwork Oldham and Rochdale and aimed at youngsters who were unlikely to have visited the countryside before.

The 'Youth Reach the Peak' project consisted of environmental action days and trips to the national park, culminating in a stay at a national park residential centre, Brunts Barn near Grindleford. Those involved learned how to navigate, did practical conservation work building fences and pathways and completed a community garden for the residents of Coldhurst Hollow.

The 'Peak District Farming' project introduced primary school children to cows, sheeps and hens at a farm in Wildboarclough and let them see where their food originally comes from. They also learned about the importance of farming to the landscape, and about national parks and environmental conservation.

All good stuff we reckon and part financed by the Peak District Sustainable Development Fund, with support from the national park’s Ranger Service and Losehill Hall, its centre for environmental learning.

More information at www.peakdistrict.gov.uk