Talking to young farmers

Yorkshire Dales Moorland Group

Another rewarding evening this time in the lovely dales village of Austwick.

It was fabulous to meet the Lawkland Young Farmers Club last night along with their parents and guardians. Our keepers gave an enlightening talk about the gamekeepers role in the countryside, discussing the importance of heather maintenance, predator and prey relationships, conservation and the benefits to the uplands from grouse moor management. It really was great fun engaging with the young adults and talking about the importance of the uplands. Bird identification skills were put to the test followed by questions from the floor about shooting and wildlife.

Our keepers explained how shooting employed hundreds of locals, how game was collected and processed for the food industry and how young and old benefitted socially and financially from the income earned from beating, flanking and picking up.

Then we embarked on barn owl pellet dissection, prey analysis and the construction of another barn owl nest box.

We were given a very appreciative round of applause afterwards and informal conversations ensued over tea and biscuits. Such a fabulous interaction all round.

Thanks to the keepers for providing the education and entertainment and to all the children and adults who came along to get involved.