The year ahead

In 2011-12, our work will include:   

• Helping local people to explore the history of their communities through our community archaeology project, Altogether Archaeology, including excavations at Appleby Golf Club and Westgate Castle
• Planting new woodland across the AONB
• Undertaking consolidation work at Whitesyke and Bentyfield Mine
• Creating new horse riding and mountain biking routes
• Continuing to run our Changing Environments Landscape Laboratory (CELL) project, producing educational resources on geology and landscape and expanding our work with schools
• Completing the stage 2 bid for our WildWatch community biodiversity recording project
• Supporting projects through our Sustainable Development Fund
• Producing two editions of North Pennines News and our North Pennines Pocket Guide, as well as issuing e-newsletters. Refreshing and improving our website and continuing to develop our use of social networking channels to reach out to new audiences
• Seeing our Building Design Guidance, AONB Planning Guidelines and Landscape Character Assessment/Guidelines through to adoption
• Holding the 2011 Northern Rocks Festival and running, with partners, an AONB Events Programme
• Implementing year six of the Hay Time project, seeding new meadows, running training events, providing advice to farmers and conservation staff, working with school and community groups on a Hay Meadow History Week and producing new publications, as well as raising the money to ensure a continuation of the work
• Producing 15 Farm Environment Plans
• Supporting the further development of Love Food - North Pennines
• Working to counter climate change through our Peatscapes project, blocking over 200km of grips, addressing bare and eroding peat issues, hosting events, undertaking and supporting research and producing new publications, as well as generating new funds
• Publishing new geotrails and a new popular geology book, running evening classes and interpreting local sites and features. If successful, INTERREG, LEADER and LEONARDO bids will bring major new funding to expand this work
• Continuing to influence the local, regional and national strategies, plans and programmes which impact on the AONB
• Continuing to work with our partners in the European and Global Geopark Networks and the National Association for AONBs
• ...and much more