Team of gamekeepers support local schools

Community effort across three sites

Twenty-four gamekeepers from across the North Pennines have given up their time to carry out a programme of practical improvements at local schools and nurseries, bringing the same hands-on skills they apply on the moor to a rather different set of tasks.

The volunteers, all members of the North Pennines Moorland Group, worked across three sites: Samuel King’s School in Alston, Dawn Till Dusk Nursery and Middleton-in-Teesdale Academy. 

.

Practical improvements for pupils

Between them, the team laid new paths, secured loose steps, pressure-washed yards, painted sheds and fencing, cleaned outdoor toys, seeded worn patches of grass and cleared accumulated rubbish. Old fencing was removed and fresh woodchips spread to give children better surfaces for outdoor play.

For a number of those involved, the work had a personal dimension. Several of the keepers are former pupils of the schools themselves, while others are parents of children currently attending or recently moved on.

.

Moorland group’s wider role

The North Pennines Moorland Group was established by gamekeepers living and working on the moors, who between them manage more than 50,000 acres of heather moorland.

A spokesperson for the group said: “Community is at the core of everything we do. Our members live and work in these areas, and it’s important to us that we contribute positively. Seeing 24 gamekeepers volunteer their time to help local schools is something we are incredibly proud of.”