Goathland Nature Group
Annual Report March 2026
This has been Goathland Nature Group’s (GNG) first year of operation. As a result of an article in the February 2025 issue of the Goathland Parish Magazine entitled ‘Our Local Wildlife Needs a Helping Hand. Will You Help?’ a number of local residents gallantly responded to the call. The challenges facing wildlife in the UK and worldwide continue to be documented by scientists on a regular basis. This is borne out by many people’s concern over the future of our own local nature. All the more reason why we need a community group that is committed to promote the conservation and study of local nature.
Overall, I’m pleased to report that this has been a busy and productive first year. Organisationally, we have agreed to operate through an Organizing Committee of 9 members with 5 Officer roles (Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, and Communications).
To meet our educational objective, we have undertaken nine public talks with a range of speakers and variety of topics related to wildlife, conservation and nature restoration. We have engaged with residents and visitors at our stalls which we have run at the monthly Farmer’s Market and the Village Show. Public information leaflets about the GNG have been produced and circulated. A Facebook Group has provided a valuable forum for sharing information, sightings and observations and currently has 138 members. Together with a regular news section in the Goathland Parish Magazine and posters we are able to communicate activities, such as Litter Picking events and The Dark Sky project, to as many residents and visitors as possible.
Our initial focus on recording local nature has been to encourage people to use the iNaturalist app and share their observations by uploading to the Goathland Nature Project. It also formed the basis for the wildlife survey in the churchyard.
From the outset we have been keen to work in partnership with other organisations, groups and stakeholders to achieve our aims. Locally, we have worked with the Village School on ways to further improve the biodiversity and educational benefits for their pupils, and they have helped us by designing our logo. We have undertaken a wildlife survey of the churchyard and produced recommendations for the Parochial Parish Council. We have also partnered several wider networks such Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, Ryedale Environmental Network, REConnect Project and Yorkshire Water. These provide important opportunities for sharing good practice and ensuring collaboration.
In the latter part of the year, we turned our attention to additional projects aimed at monitoring the condition of local nature and supporting its recovery. These will include surveying our waterways, monitoring bats and facilitating our swift breeding colony.
In sum, we have achieved a lot in a short amount of time and the positive response from local people and organizations has been very gratifying.
Looking forward, our main objective is to encourage wider participation of community members and visitors through a series of projects and activities. These will include encouraging wildlife-friendly gardening through our Open Gardens event on 21st June 2026; surveying lapwing and curlew numbers; building homes for swallows; sponsoring a wildlife photography prize at the Goathland Village Show; and, enhancing our engagement through a new website.
Chair, Goathland Nature Group