Welcome to our latest newsletter...as we emerge from a proper winter into spring, with longer and warmer days, and the promise of light at the end of our pandemic tunnel! Although spring is to be cherished I always feel slightly sad as winter fades with its bare trees silhouetted against clear skies and the bare bones of the landscape revealed.

This year it’s also tinged with sadness as Abbi, Billy, Rebekah and Sarah have finished their 18-month apprenticeships and are moving on to the next stage in their careers. They’ve been fine ambassadors for the scheme and the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, their employers, so we congratulate them and wish them well for the future.

The pandemic and winter months also encouraged us to look at using the potential of Zoom much more and we have now run three very popular and well received Westmorland Dales Wednesday Webinars, reaching a far bigger and wider audience than we would have done otherwise. Further webinars are to follow and although we will be returning to more outdoor activities as restrictions ease, virtual meetings and events clearly have a place in the future. So do sign up to our forthcoming webinars, and our virtual landscape conference on 27th March. But also look out for a new series of heritage walks, volunteering and other activities as we aim to meet outside again, once we are able, as so many of us are desperate to do. 

David Evans, Scheme Manager
March 2021

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