Restrap and the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust Team up

The Yorkshire Dales is almost as much part of Restrap as our people. It has been part of our riding since our beginning; a place to breathe and enjoy the landscape and nature on our doorstep. We believe in taking care of what you care about, so we are teaming up with Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust to support the people, landscape and wildlife of our closest National Park.

The Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust helps to look after the spectacular Dales landscape, wildlife and supports rural communities. From tree planting and woodland management, through to rural apprenticeships and connecting more people to nature.  The YDMT is a small charity doing big things for the Dales. 

When entering into this partnership, we wanted to support the YDMT financially, but also to roll up our sleeves and physically contribute to taking care of a place we love. That's why we attended a tree planting day at Fah Barn, just outside of Horton in Ribblesdale, under the shadow of Pen y Ghent to help mark the start of our relationship.

Rolling our sleeves up

It was a typically northern February day when Communications Manager, Tom and Procurement/Logistics Assistant Dan arrived on the small tree planting site on the banks of the River Ribble. We chatted with the team and learnt that tree planting is confined to the winter months to enable the saplings to take root before the major growth months in spring and summer. It makes sense, but it meant that the twenty or so volunteers were in for a damp and muddy day. 

After a quick introduction and being shown how to plant our small saplings, we split into groups, each allocated to "pen" with enough supplies to plant 25 trees. In this case, the pens were important as the field would still be used to graze sheep; who are partial to the tender shoots of growth and would kill off the young trees before they had the chance to become established. In the much longer term, the fencing will be removed and the copses allowed to grow more naturally. 

Once into the swing of things, it only took a few minutes to plant a tree: Cut a square of turf and flip it to the side, hammer in a stake, plant the tree and cover the roots with the up-turned turf (this is to prevent the grass from regrowing immediately around the tree and give it a better chance of success) and then finally enclose the sapling in a plastic sleeve to protect it from smaller creatures that might take fancy to it, like field mice (this sleeve will be recycled/reused once the tree is big enough to thrive by itself).

One down... 24 to go. Then onto the next pen. 

Over the course of a few hours, the volunteer group as a whole planted 250 trees in coppices, 200 hedgerow trees and 30 separate landscape trees, including some next to the riverbank, to help stabilise the sides. That feels like big numbers, but it is in the context that the Yorkshire Dales are the UKs least tree-populated national park. There's much more that can be done. 

Giving back

Looking back over the field as we left, there was a real sense of achievement. A day spent taking care of a place that we take so much out of; putting just a small amount back. It will be many years before any of us are able to lean our backs against one of the newly planted trees and enjoy its shade. We think of it as an investment and not even necessarily one that we will directly enjoy ourselves, but for everyone who enjoys the National Park – day trippers like us, who live fairly locally, residents within the park boundaries and people who are drawn from further afield. 

Celebrating the Dales with YDMT

To mark our partnership, we have also launched two new products that celebrate the Yorkshire Dales and the bikepacker’s relationship with them. We commissioned artist,  Adam Hayes (@itsallrideable) to illustrate a custom design. 

RESTRAP X YDMT RACE MUSETTE

We have applied Adam’s print to our ever-popular Race Musette. The basics are still the same – an ultra-lightweight, ultra-packable shoulder bag that is perfect for those moments you need to carry a little more than fits into a jersey pocket. 

Now you can carry a bag of beans and a croissant back from your favourite coffee shop, while professing your love for the Yorkshire Dales and know that all £14 will be going to a good cause. 

And of course, like all of our bags, the musette is made here in Yorkshire too. 

Product - Restrap/Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust Musette
Price - £30.00

RESTRAP X YDMT PATCH

We have taken the same design and turned it into a custom patch. Iron or stitch it on to your favourite frame bag, or wherever you please and carry a little bit of the Dales with you each time you ride. All profits go to YDMT.

Product - Restrap/Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust Patch
Price - £5