IT has spent around £14 million and has been around for a decade, but the beauty of the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust is that at first glance, no-one would know anything had changed.

The whole concept of the Clapham-based trust, set up in 1997 and whose patron is The Prince of Wales, has been to enhance the natural surroundings of the Dales, help rebuild field barns and dry stone walls, plant wild flower meadows and support mini-projects to improve the landscape and make life easier for local people.

The charity kicked off its 10th anniversary year on Saturday with a visit to St Joseph's Wood, at Aysgarth - the first of three main celebratory events.

Over the years, one of the trust's main projects has been to plant broadleaved trees in a bid to restore and create woodlands throughout the Dales and outlying regions.

One of the first woodlands planted was Keat's Woodland in Grassington, and since then the charity has funded more than 100 similar projects covering more than 500 hectares of land and around 600,000 native trees.

Trust director, David Sharrod, is particularly keen to thank the many landowners, organisations and individuals who have helped the charity achieve its figures.

"Ninety-eight per cent of the land in the Yorkshire Dales is in private ownership, which means that woodland planting in this special area is dependent on landowners, environmental organisations, local authorities and individuals all pulling together," he said.

"Obviously, woodland creation and restoration have been part of our aims since our work began and there are many good reasons to plant trees, but now, with such an emphasis on carbon offsetting, people are very keen to support this work," Mr Sharrod added.

As well as rebuilding walls and planting trees, the trust has been instrumental in scores of other large-scale schemes, including education and training through countryside apprenticeships and Learning in Limestone Country.

The EnviroNet and Dales Living Landscape schemes were additional successes which brought in more than £5.5 million of Heritage Lottery funding.

In order to run efficiently, the trust works closely with the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority and for the past decade, the authority's trees and woodland officer, Geoff Garrett, has helped out with his expertise and vast knowledge of the district.

And, as the landscape evolves, so too does the charity, by embracing topical issues, such as the need to be carbon-aware.

Last year, Prince Charles confirmed his patronage of the charity for a further five years.

Since its founding, he has paid two visits to the area - the last time was in March 2005 when he called in to the Clapham office to launch the Donate to the Dales appeal.

For more information about the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust, visit the website ydmt.org