This new project will give people and communities in Nidderdale the chance to reconnect with the natural heritage on their doorstep and to make a more meaningful and more useful contribution to conserving the world around them has been announced today.

The Nidderdale AONB is a nationally significant landscape, incorporating striking wildlife habitats, a remarkable variety of species, as well as internationally important cultural heritage sites such as Fountains Abbey and the Studley Royal World Heritage sites. The heather moorlands are themselves internationally important for conservation because of their rich concentration of rare plants and wildlife.

Fiona Spiers, Head of HLF Yorkshire and the Humber, said: “This wonderful project will allow significant numbers of people to really get to grips with the natural world in their local area, which so often goes undiscovered. It is also fantastic that the important species and habitats in the AONB will be conserved, so we are delighted to be able to provide our support”.

[quote=Paul Burgess, Nidderdale AONB Manager]"It will ... ultimately pioneer a new way of delivering conservation action on a landscape scale"[/quote]

Paul Burgess, Nidderdale AONB Manager, said: “We are really pleased that HLF is supporting us to develop this innovative and exciting project.  It will combine the power of citizen science and emerging scientific research to gather natural heritage records and ultimately pioneer a new way of delivering conservation action on a landscape scale”.

The citizen science project will gather data relating to the habitats and wildlife of Nidderdale, engage people with nature, and create natural heritage action plans for nationally threatened wildlife species. Local people will have the chance to spot hedgehogs, survey rare plants or learn new skills in natural history and nature conservation. Visitors to the area will be able to have an enjoyable experience, learn something new and feel more connected to nature.

The project has the potential to make a real difference, both to species in the area and for the communities themselves. The data collected will help the team to understand how they can take targeted conservation action to best affect, and help protect the future of much-loved species, once a common sight but now increasingly threatened and rare.

Where to find out more

Read more on the Nidderdale AONB website.