Farmers, other land managers and conservation staff working in Nidderdale or the wider Dales are being called on by photographers to be part of a film.

It will focus on the lives of people working rurally and how they have responded to recent challenges.

The photographers want to include rural practices such as sheepherding, lambing and dry stone walling.

Both photographers involved have won awards for their work and hope this project can be another way to show off the Yorkshire landscape and those working on it.

Gary Lawson, a videographer and photographer from Ripon, said:

“Over the next year ‘Future Talks’ will be filming farming, land management and conservation practice in the Yorkshire Dales National Park and northern hills.

“We’re looking to explore how Dales people are responding to Covid-19, climate change and Brexit, and the forthcoming changes to agriculture policy. Participants will be free to raise any issues they see as a concern.

“The final product will be a series of films offering an insight into grassroots perspectives on the future direction of land management in a changing political, economic and environmental climate.”

The photographers want to focus on those working on the land and how recent events such as covid and Brexit have affected them.

Mr Lawson is working alongside David Higgins to complete to project. It has received a grant of £10,000 from the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority’s Sustainable Development Fund.

Anyone interested should contact Gary Lawson or David Higgins on info@future-talks.com

North Yorkshire Police has urged dog owners to be more responsible after an increase in attacks on livestock.

The police issued the appeal after noticing an upturn in incidents in the Harrogate area over the last week.

More people are visiting the countryside as lockdown restrictions are eased, which has led to more dog attacks on sheep.

Inspector Matt Hagan, head of North Yorkshire’s rural taskforce, said:

“Owners need to stick to the countryside code and keep their dogs under control even if that means they have to stay on a lead. You are responsible for their behaviour so keep it under control. If your dog is involved in an incident please report it as a lot of the time the owner may see no-one and just head off but they do have a duty to report it.

“If you’re out and about and see anything please report it too because it’s difficult following these kinds of reports up, but if you report it at the time and it’s more likely we can do something.”

The police are asking dog owners to take responsibility for their dogs when out walking them in the countryside.

Read more:

• Suspected poisonings of birds of prey in Nidderdale have increased over lockdown. 
• Police are calling for Ripon parents to help them tackle anti-social behaviour in the city. 

One of the incidents reported to the police this month involved a husky which managed to run through a fence and chase sheep. Police officers were called to an incident on July 12 near Thruscross Reservoir, near Harrogate, by a farmer who reported a dog had attacked a lamb on his land.

The farmer accepted an apology from the dog’s owner and the police issued a community resolution. North Yorkshire’s rural police force are keen to highlight the financial and emotional impact these attacks can have on their livelihoods.