Do you love visiting our beautiful National Park or do you live here? Do you care about the environment, landscape, wildlife and local communities of the Yorkshire Dales?
If so, please help us continue to look after this very special place. There are lots of ways to get involved and give something back.
Give money
We need your help! The Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority is a public sector body which means we are primarily funded by a Government grant but by 2020 this will only provide 60% of the budget to maintain what we do now. We are doing all we can to find alternative funding sources to keep services going and we are looking for the support of business and the public in these initiatives.
Rather than ask for general donations we will identify specific projects that need your support so you will always know where your money is going. Currently you can choose to support the repair and maintenance of well-loved footpaths in the Three Peaks or help our work in providing red squirrels with the best habitat.
We are very grateful to have recently received a donation of £50,000 in memory of Mr Stephen Skomp. This money will be used across a number of projects to improve accessibility for all to the National Park.
We would be equally grateful to receive your donation, large or small, and you can be sure it will be put to work to the benefit of the Park.
Maintaining the paths in the Three Peaks area costs on average £28 per metre. We rely on donations to make sure this vital work can continue.
If you have enjoyed walking in the Three Peaks and want to ensure future generations can too, then perhaps you could give us a little help. All donations will go directly to looking after the path network in the Three Peaks area.
Other ways to help
Plan your trip here using the Three Peaks app
Park in a National Park car park at Horton or Clapham where your fee will help our work
Celebrate conquering one or more of the peaks by buying special branded gifts from our online shop
Join the Friends of the Three Peaks to donate and gain access to practical volunteering opportunities
Recycle old printer cartridges and mobile phones with Recycle4Charity, choosing the Friends of the Three Peaks as your beneficiary. We receive 50% of the recycling value for any mobile phones, £1 for each original empty inkjet cartridge or up to £5 per empty laser/toner cartridge donated
Walking the Three Peaks as part of a charity fundraiser? Please give a donation to our project. We know you want to raise as much as possible for your chosen charity but giving a small part back means a great path network for the future.
Red squirrel numbers declined dramatically following the introduction of the grey squirrel from the United States in the nineteenth century. The red squirrel continues to be on the UK list of priority species for biodiversity action.
There are only about 15,000 red squirrels in England. Snaizeholme in Widdale is now one of 17 refuges that are on the ‘front line’ between the reds and greys. Our red squirrel conservation programme, here, includes monitoring squirrel numbers, providing habitat and working to prevent the ingress of the non-native grey squirrels.
If you would like to show your support for the plight of the red squirrels please consider a small donation. We guarantee that 100% of the money you donate will go towards red squirrel conservation within the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
For more information on other ways to support our red squirrels please visit our section on Supporting Wildlife Conservation
Corporate Partnership
As well as the association with the much loved Yorkshire Dales Brand, working with the National Park Authority offers your business a range of benefits: access to a large audience through our digital and print channels; coverage of your work with us through local, regional and national media, accentuating your environmental credentials; through to opportunities for team-building volunteering activities.
Every individual sponsorship or partnership package will be tailor-made to meet your business objectives and level of investment. For an opportunity to demonstrate to customers, clients, employees and stakeholders that you are supporting work that makes a difference to the environment and to people’s lives, please see more details at Corporate Partnership.
Buy a gift
Take home that perfect souvenir or give a fantastic gift from the Dales. Our shops offer everything to make your visit a memorable one with maps, books, clothing, local produce, toys, crafts and more. Call in at our National Park Centres or shop online from the comfort of your home.
The Yorkshire Dales National Park is honoured to have within its boundary the spectacular mountains Pen-y-ghent, Ingleborough and Whernside, collectively known as the Three Peaks. Walking up all three of them on the 25 mile route that links them together constitutes the famous Three Peaks challenge. Have you done it recently or are you still at the planning stage? The Three Peaks merchandise available in our shop is exclusive to the Three Peaks Project and all funds raised through its sale go to the project.
Give time
Looking for a more hands on way of getting involved? There are many ways in which you can make a contribution.
We have a healthy and very active volunteer community that in 2016/2017 contributed over 6,200 days to helping to look after the National Park. Become a Dales Volunteer or join a local conservation group. Join in and get involved in anything from footpath repairs to wildlife surveys. Giving just a little of your time can have a big impact. We would particularly like to hear from new volunteers in those areas that joined the National Park in August 2016.
If you are interested in the history of the Yorkshire Dales and would like to help in the running of the Dales Countryside Museumthen becoming a member of the Friends of the Dales Countryside Museum might be just the thing for you.
Alternatively, you might be interested in providing advice on improving access within the National Park. If so, there may be an opportunity to volunteer to serve on the Yorkshire Dales Access Forum (YDAF).
Finally you may feel you have something to offer as a Member of the Authority working on our ‘board’ to ensure the Authority fulfils National Park Purposes and does so in a way that best reflects the special qualities of the Park. For the different routes to becoming a Member visit ‘How to become a Member’.
Give passion
If you care about National Parks as strongly we do, you may want to make your voice heard. On a local basis the Yorkshire Dales Society works to address key issues in the National Park and at national level the Campaign for National Parks works to champion and protect our most precious landscapes.
