75 Years of Landscapes for Everyone
It was a great pleasure to be invited to the 2024 UK National Parks Conference and to host a day at Ingram Valley Farm.
This year Northumberland National Park hosted the National Parks Conference to discuss our role in society, how we are addressing key challenges and to share ideas and to celebrate the incredible work our National Parks are doing. 2024 marks 75 years of the 1949 National Parks Access to the Countryside Act which led to the creation of the first National Parks in the UK hence the theme of the Conference ‘75 years of Landscapes for Everyone’. National Parks were created to help look after our finest landscapes and provide opportunities for all in society. What is evident is that there is still along way to go and much listening to be done to get to a true utopia.
It was an honour to meet many speakers and delegates at this year’s conference who have real life experience, and we hope to work with as many people as possible to learn about how we can keep evolving for a better society and planet. One of the key highlights was getting to spend time with speaker and panellist Maxwell Ayamba. Maxwell A Ayamba BEM is the Founder/CEO of the Sheffield Environmental Movement (SEM) which he founded in 2016.
Some interesting facts about Maxwell:
- Maxwell has just finished his PhD research which was on “People of Black African Ancestry’s perceptions of the English landscape through the lens of the Peak District National Park”.
- Maxwell was the first Black person to be published in the Farmers Guardian in England at the 63rd Yorkshire Agricultural Show in 2022.
- Maxwell was recognised in the 2023 King’s New Year’s Honours for services to the environment and in relation to minoritised communities.
- Maxwell works with Patrons Kate Ashbrush, Dame Joanna Lamond Lumley and Clive Myrie from the BBC: https://www.semcharity.org.uk/our-trustees/
It was great to talk, see and hear about all the amazing work Maxwell is doing and we look forward to partnering with Maxwell with some group visits in the near future. Maxwell was pleased to hear about some of the partnerships already on our farm.
Our farm has done a lot to focus on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals over the years with United Nations Sponsors Mr & Mrs Regan bringing a Syrian family (who arrived in Amble just before the 2019/20 Covid pandemic and were then confined to their home for almost a year because of Covid restrictions) to emerge to spend a day with the Ingram Valley Farm Team. The invitation by the farm was extended after hearing of how the family, Sawsan and her children Ahmad and Amira had escaped war torn Syria only to then spend six years as refugees in Lebanon.
They were brought to the U.K. by the UN on a government resettlement scheme, but trying to form a network of new friends and contacts had proved difficult because of the pandemic. During the farm visits after the lockdown restrictions were lifted the family were able to practise their English, and to see the farm’s herd of Aberdeen Angus cows, sheep and red deer. They bottle fed the orphaned lambs before heading out with Ross into the fields to deliver food to the deer grazing on the Cheviot Hills. Despite the bracing winds the family was able to experience finally the beauty and hospitality on offer in Northumberland.
The farm has also welcomed a refugee family from Uganda to their Planet Mark Day www.planetmark.com where children David and Tiffany helped plant a tree and both the Planet Mark and Rebecca helped Tiffany with a project on climate change.
Rebecca and Ross are also collaborating with Patrick Norris of Footsteps Northumberland and with whom they share the same passion for making the countryside as accessible as possible, connecting people to nature to help and support their mental wellbeing. We’re now hoping to work with Maxwell Ayamba and Patrick connecting more people from black, Asian and minority ethnic communities with the outdoors. Patrick will include narration on black presence in the countryside in Roman times through to modern day: https://www.cpre.org.uk/stories/maxwell-ayamba-my-england/
The farm works with the Leading Link Charity who are managing the Holiday Activity Provision on behalf of Northumberland County Council working with the North East Child Poverty Trust, National Lottery and the Department for Education. This includes providing days out for children of all ages and backgrounds and help with accessibility.
Click on the link below for more information
https://leadinglink.co.uk/northumberland-holiday-provision/
As we expand our accessibility offering we hope to get more lived experience advice from the incredible speaker and panellist we also met at the conference Will Clark who is a member of the Lake District National Park Authority. Will sees his disability as a super power and is an inspiration. We can’t wait to see what the future brings sharing ideas with such inspirational people. For more information on Will Clark: https://www.greatnorthairambulance.co.uk/our-work/news/grasmere-man-paralysed-in-cycling-accident-to-complete-triathlon-for-gnaas/
This month we will be collecting toys and clothes to help raise funds for Air Ambulance: https://theairambulanceservice.org.uk
Once again thank you to Northumberland National Park for inviting us to the conference and thank you to the speakers, panel members and partners. The 2024 Conference concluded with the beautiful Tree of Hope: https://www.countrylife.co.uk/news/one-year-after-being-cut-down-sycamore-gap-tree-lives-on-with-new-legacy-273862
The trees reflect ‘People, Place and Nature’ or as Maxwell says ‘The Natural Health Service’.
Main image by: Clementp.fr
