Celebrating National Countryside Week (22-28 July)

National Countryside Week - 22-28 July - aims to raise awareness of the importance of the countryside to the UK and recognise the people and organisations working tirelessly to maintain and promote rural Britain. Now in its third year, the event is led by The Prince’s Countryside Fund, a charity set up by HRH The Prince of Wales in 2010 to champion the British countryside and allocate grants to support those living and working within it.

UK farmers manage more than 85% of the countryside, including looking after fences and footpaths; providing habitats for wildlife; sowing wildflowers and managing woodland; and preserving our drinking water, 70% of which comes from the UK’s upland areas. However, the countryside faces many challenges; it is estimated that in the next 50 years we will have to produce more food than we have in the last 10,000 and a significant 60,000 new entrants will be needed in the countryside in the next decade to ensure its sustainability.

The Prince’s Countryside Fund released its emergency fund of over £500,000 earlier this spring to help farmers in all agricultural sectors struggling to cope with the impact of the wettest year on record and a long winter. National Countryside Week will encourage people to stop and consider the difficult issues our countryside faces and think about how they can help ensure the future of our rural areas and those who live and work in it.

This week you could learn about dry stone walling and sheep dog handling, attend a wild food feast, take tuition in beekeeping or learn how your community could set up a village shop at a number of open days and events taking place throughout the week.

Victoria Elms, Programme Manager at the Prince’s Countryside Fund, explains; “National Countryside Week is a great opportunity to get out and explore and understand more about how farming, the environment and rural communities work to benefit the rural economy.

“The farming community has been hit hard this year, and the ramifications of the current farming crisis, widely reported to be bigger than foot and mouth, are far reaching and will affect many people who work in the countryside. We need to ensure that we support those who look after the land and produce our food so that generations to come may continue to preserve these important roles.

“The projects opening their doors for National Countryside Week are doing vital work to protect, improve and sustain rural life, and this is a great opportunity to get out and learn more about country life.”

To find out where the nearest event is to you visit the National Countryside Week web page!

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