Our strategy
Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust is a charity doing big things to support people, landscape and wildlife in the Yorkshire Dales and surrounding areas.
This special area inspires us to be ambitious and we have always prided ourselves on being an organisation that makes a practical difference and "gets stuff done."
As a local charity we’ve got an important job to do delivering local solutions to our biggest challenges yet - climate change, biodiversity loss and inequality in access to nature. We know that we cannot do this alone. That is why our 2025-2028 Strategy is centred around building partnerships and enabling others to deliver with us.
Our 2025-28 Strategy
Our vision is a Yorkshire Dales with thriving communities, resilient landscapes and abundant wildlife that provides a sense of belonging and inspiration to everyone. This is our strategy for making that happen.
Our Priorities over the next three years
Inspire people to visit, live sustainably and care for this special area
We will help to create an inclusive and welcoming Yorkshire Dales that is accessible to everyone, with a focus on connecting young and underrepresented groups with nature.
Together with our partners we aim to:
- Tackle inequalities in access, with a focus on our most underrepresented communities.
- Create opportunities for young people to benefit
from outdoor experiences and get employment in the environment sector. - Enable local community groups and supporters to develop new skills and contribute to the sustainable future of the area.
Conserve and celebrate the landscape and heritage of the Dales
Our work will enhance the qualities that make our landscapes unique, providing funding and support that helps to protect our outstanding natural and rural heritage. We will build partnerships that increase the scale and pace of nature recovery, making our landscapes more resilient.
Working with farmers, land managers and communities, we aim to deliver a range of benefits:
- Increase tree cover to create a more wooded and resilient landscape.
- Enhance and expand species-rich grasslands.
- Support ecological systems, including providing nature based solutions to reduce flood risk in our major cities.
- Restore our rich built and cultural heritage.
Protect and enhance the environment and wildlife of the Dales
We will support people to understand, restore and manage our nationally and internationally important habitats, with a focus on connecting small areas of priority habitat and increasing biodiversity.
As a trusted local charity, we aim to:
- Connect areas of habitat to create ‘stepping stones’ for wildlife.
- Enable people to take a leading role in creating nature-rich habitats for the future.
- Upskill and support volunteers to help monitor habitat biodiversity.
- Work with partners to support rare species.
Some of our key targets
Essential to achieving our priorities are our measures of success, these are central to all of our projects. Here are some of our key targets over the next three years.
How we want to develop our work
Over the next three years, we will continue to develop a partnership led approach to deliver our priorities and develop new areas of work.
We'll lead a new landscape scale partnership across ‘Three Counties’ in the Lune Valley, support the creation of a Northern Meadow Forum to share knowledge and skills, and work with partners to improve access to the Dales for all groups.
We will create more varied habitats for wildlife, such as wood pasture and wildlife hedgerow, as well as helping the delivery of Local Nature Recovery strategies and supporting ‘Red Listed’ species.
Underpinning everything we do is a well governed, well managed organisation that is respected and understood, where staff feel valued
and equipped to deliver our aims. We are continually improve how we monitor, evaluate and learn to ensure everything we do has the best possible impact.
We're better together
Get involved
Fundraise for us. Volunteer your time. Become a corporate partner. You can support our work in a way that suits you.
Donate
We can do amazing things with your support. Your donation will support projects that keep the Yorkshire Dales special for everyone, forever.
Our impact
76p from every £1 donated to us goes directly to charitable activity and 24p is invested in helping to build our capacity and capabilities.
