Denby Dale Countryside Project
The Denby Dale Parish Countryside Project aims to provide people with opportunities to engage positively with the local environment. To support this the Parish Council’s Countryside Officer, David Wilde, has extensive experience of working with volunteer groups, (Eco)schools and the RSPB for example. This was at Old Moor Nature Reserve, in the lower Dearne Valley, and he is now working along with his apprentice Adam Johnson, upstream throughout our parish, where the river actually rises.
Whilst focusing locally, the project links its work to initiatives downstream, using the natural wildlife corridor of the river and partnering with, for example, the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, the Don, Dearne and Rother Network and the Dearne Landscape Partnership.
Some dates may be liable to change so if you are interested in becoming involved, and to find out about specific activities, contact the Countryside Project, based at the Council Offices, 24 Commercial Road, Skelmanthorpe, Huddersfield HD8 9DA
Mob: 07939 446581
Email: countryside@denbydale-pc.gov.uk
Eco-School Support
Celebrating Eco-Schools Green Flag Success Across Denby Dale Parish
Schools and nurseries across Denby Dale Parish are showing their dedication to sustainability and pupil-led environmental action by achieving Eco-Schools Green Flag accreditation. A total of 6 settings in the area earned this internationally recognised award last academic year, which celebrates the efforts of young people and educators working together to make their schools greener, cleaner, and more environmentally aware.
They are:
Denby CE (VA) First School (with Distinction)
St Aidan’s CE Academy (with Distinction)
Scissett CE Academy First School (with Distinction)
Denby Dale First & Nursery School
Skelmanthorpe Academy
Shelley College
The Eco-Schools programme, established in 1994, has been inspiring young environmentalists for over 30 years. It has grown into a global movement, with Eco-Schools Green Flag accreditation awarded to schools in more than 100 countries. In England alone, the programme reaches over 1 million young people each year, empowering them to make a positive impact on our planet.
This and previous years’ achievements have been supported by Denby Dale Parish Council, with leadership from its Countryside Project. Their commitment to sustainability in education has helped schools and nurseries across the area take meaningful steps toward becoming more environmentally responsible. Through support in school, funding and the ‘Aspiring Eco-Schools’ event, schools have been empowered to deliver impactful, pupil-led projects. This support has been available to schools in the parish since 2021 and continues into at least the current and next academic years.
Highlights include schools measuring water quality in the River Dearne by Riverfly monitoring, exploring local greenspaces, litter-picks and pupils becoming ‘Energy Heroes’ by using school energy consumption measurements in maths lessons. Schools also took part in recycling and transport initiatives in partnership with Kirklees Council and engaged with the Kirklees Climate Commission through an event at Huddersfield University to support schools to create tailored Climate Action Plans.
David Wilde, Denby Dale Parish Council’s Countryside Project Officer, reflected on the area’s Green Flag success, stating:
“The Eco-Schools Programme is an excellent way to instil an ethos of sustainability into a school and achievement of the internationally recognised Green Flag is great recognition of this throughout the whole school. I’m really pleased that the Parish Council support me and my apprentice to support schools and young people in this way”
Adam Flint, Education Manager at Keep Britain Tidy — the charity delivering the Eco-Schools programme in England — shared: “Every year, we are amazed by the incredible efforts of young people working together to create a better future for all. When a local authority dedicates time and resource to engaging young people in environmental action leadership teams take note, buy-in is increased, and a sustainability movement is born that extends way beyond the school gates and unlocks a generation of changemakers who are passionate, informed, and ready to lead the way toward a more sustainable world.”
For more information, go to the Parish Council’s website
(https://denbydale-pc.gov.uk/ )
and to learn more about the Eco-Schools programme and accreditation, head to: www.eco-schools.org.uk.
Denby Dale Parish Environment Trust
The Trust was formed in 1997 as an independent registered charity. It aims to support and facilitate community environmental activity which works to conserve, enhance and sustain the natural and human environment of the Denby Dale Parish.
Kaye’s Millennium Green
Kaye’s Millennium Green came about as a consequence of the benevolence of a local family combined with the support of many local organisations. For more information, please view the Kayes Millenium Green website.
Upper Dearne Woodlands Conservation Group
The Group was formed in 1997 as the result of an initiative between the Denby Dale Countryside Project and the owners of the woodlands, Hepworth Building Products. For more information please visit the Upper Dearne Woodlands Conservation Group website.
Walking in and around Denby Dale
The Denby Dale district, a large area including 12 villages and with a population of some 18,000, is an area of beautiful countryside with an excellent network of footpaths which have been less well-known than they deserve.
In April, 2009 the Parish Council, at the request of local residents, formally agreed to support the independent “Denby Dale Walkers are Welcome Group”, who aimed to encourage both local people and visitors from further afield to explore our area on foot.
This group (with the help of modest matched funding from the Parish Council) won a substantial grant from the East Peak Innovation Partnership (see www.epip.org.uk) to produce 14 trails covering the whole of our area, each with an accompanying leaflet also available electronically from their new web-site. As well as route directions, the leaflets include information on local history and heritage and on public transport and local facilities.
The funding also paid for waymarking and improvements to stiles, gates and seats.
The original 14 leaflets were followed by a further 5, and then by 10 “train walks” linked to Denby Dale Station on the scenic Penistone Line. All these were funded by the Parish Council.
Full information can be found at https://www.denbydale-walkersarewelcome.org.uk .
The Transpennine Trail also goes through the parish (more details available here: http://www.transpenninetrail.org.uk/) as does The long-distance (30 mile) footpath “The Dearne Way” that starts near Birdsedge and crosses part of our area. For information see:
www.ldwa.org.uk/ldp/members/show_path.php?path_name=Dearne+Way
Cycling in the parish
There are many cycle paths around the parish. For further details about cycling and where to cycle in Kirklees, please follow these links.
http://www.transpenninetrail.org.uk/