MORE children and young people from towns and cities outside the Yorkshire Dales will be able to enjoy its beauty thanks to a Generation Green grant of more than £48,000.

Generation Green is an Access Unlimited programme made up of organisations such as the Youth Hostel Association and Field Studies Council which aims to work with young people from some of the most under-served communities in the UK.

The second phase grant means 550 children and young people from seven to 18 years old, will be able to visit the Dales and to connect with nature through residential stays, evenings under the stars, farm visits and day visits exploring the special qualities of the national park at places such as Malham, Grinton and Grassington.

More than 300 have already been on visits thanks to Generation Green with many of the young people coming from schools and community groups in urban areas outside of the area including Colne, Leeds, Bradford and Darlington.

Last month 60 year four pupils from Hillcrest Academy in Leeds visited Gam Farm in Grassington, where they had a talk from a farmer on wool production, and got up close and personal with pigs, goats and donkeys.

And so far, 80 seven to 18-year-olds from a wide range of different community groups have enjoyed residential trips to sites like Grinton and Grassington where the national park authority’s learning and engagement team created an environment in which the groups have been able to socialise, relax and unwind and appreciate time spent in nature.

Derek Twine, Chair of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, said: “In the first phase of Generation Green we were able to support visits for 1,126 young people and establish the ‘Up Skill, Down Dale’ youth volunteering scheme which, now in its fourth year, has since helped nine young people secure jobs in the green sector.

“The fund now gives even more young people - who wouldn’t otherwise visit the national park - the opportunity to spend time here and connect with nature, to explore what they find and learn how to conserve it; it also gives an opportunity for them to feel the joy and wellbeing benefits of simply spending time in this special place.

"All these experiences are deepened by the overnight stay this funding enables us to offer, building skills and confidence in a new generation to encourage them to return to and care for the National Park in the future”.