Preparing for our first KFP Design Day!

A group of Long Lands Community board members and volunteers from both sites met on a cold March day to prepare for the first Knaresborough Forest Park design day.

(The photo above shows the work in progress at the Garth as we prepare a frame for solar panels, to further our aim of making the Garth self-sufficient in water and energy.)

The day started with a thorough tour of the site, taking in the newly planted coppice field funded by White Rose Forest and the ponds dug last winter by Yorkshire Wildlife Trust.

Following the tour, we reconvened at the Garth to discuss our aims and priorities in planning the development of various different areas of the site.

Our aims, in line with the original proposals set out in the share offer, are to:

• Maximise/enhance biodiversity in the greenbelt

• Promote nature recovery and community health and well-being

• Create a community reserve for nature with mixed habitats

• Enable access to all (where practicable)

• Engage, educate and empower the community through the creative celebration of nature.

• Protect and preserve the greenbelt for future generations.

• Contribute to the Northern Forest project.

• Be informed and guided by Permaculture principles and ethics.

We look forward to the design day in April, (which shareholders have been invited to register for and is already nearly fully booked), when we will be discussing plans for the land bordering the Beryl Burton Cycleway.