NEW FOR 2024

An opportunity to learn how to listen for and spot different birds within the arboretum and begin to learn their names.

Suitable for ALL ages.

NEW FOR 2024

An opportunity to learn how to listen for and spot different birds within the arboretum and begin to learn their names.

Suitable for ALL ages.

Join our director, John Grimshaw for an informal walk in the arboretum.

You are guaranteed to discover something new and experience Spring in the arboretum like never before!

All welcome - no prior knowledge required. Booking is essential.

The event costs £10 to attend.

Please book your place via email on visit@yorkshirearboretum.org or phone 01653 648598

NATURE RANGERS DAY

MONDAY 25TH MARCH

10AM-3PM 

(To book email visit@yorkshirearboretum.org or phone 01653 648 598)

Suitable for age 5 years and above. Children to be accompanied by an adult.

Indoor and outdoor activities based on animals and plants. Take part in a minibeast hunt and make spring flowers and animals.

£15 per child

Exhibition- The Art of Recycling by James Owen Thomas 22nd March - 28 April 2024 (Preview evening 21 March 6pm - 8pm) To book see below.

For a unique opportunity to meet James and view his exhibition, with a complimentary glass of wine, please book via emailing visit@yorkshirearboretum.org or phone 01653 648 598

Read about James:

James has made his name as an artist who transforms unwanted and discarded materials such as lottery scratch cards, tickets, single use plastic and packaging into expressive, creative works that highlight the issues faced by our environment and the problems we need to address. Since James was appointed by the Tree Council as a Force for Nature ambassador, he has been able to spread the message to young people across the country that we must all do more to help our planet before it is too late. James’ profile was further raised by an invitation to meet the Prime Minister at No10 Downing Street, a significant presence at the COP26 Climate Change Conference in Glasgow and an appearance on BBC Gardener’s World hosted by Monty Don. A book about James’ life, his autism and his art has been commissioned by Bloomsbury and will be published early 2025.

 His work has been called “truly inspiring and thought-provoking” and he has been described as “an artist with a different vision and innovative way of working.” 

Drop in on Saturday 23rd March 1.30 to 3.30pm to make a collage fridge magnet with artist James Owen Thomas, perfect for children of all ages. The activity will show how discarded materials can be used to make an inventive piece of art to create a unique magnet, personal to each individual.

Price £5 per child (includes materials)

NO need to book, just drop in!

Weave a willow Deer with Dragon Willow’s Leilah Vyner. All materials are supplied – just bring yourself and have fun.

Have a look at Leilah’s website for more information about Willow Weaving.

Fee: £90 Includes lunch and materials

Location: The Yorkshire Arboretum Peter Sowerby Building

To book please click further down the page

Join us for an exciting stargazing evening at the arboretum. This is part of a new dark skies project by the Howardian Hills Partnership to promote and protect our precious nocturnal environment. Did you know that light pollution means that over 80% of people in the UK can no long see the Milky Way? But we can and lots of other wonders too because of low light pollution.

A colourful beginner's introduction to stargazing and why it’s important we keep our dark skies for wildlife as well as people. Telescopes and binoculars will also be at the ready so we can share views of the heavens, including Jupiter and Saturn! Even if it's cloudy we will use a special planetarium programme to take you on a cosmic journey.

Event goes ahead in all weather unless hazardous. Practical tips will be offered on choosing dark sky friendly lighting and you can take away a useful leaflet.

Open to adults and children over six years old.

Ticket Price - £10 for Adults, £5 for Children (Under 12)

Learn about the beautifully coloured, fragile rarities that are English Tulips, largely preserved by members of the Wakefield and North of England Tulip Society, from Teresa Clements, former Secretary of the society, and now Chair of the RHS Bulbous Plants Committee.

This talk takes place in the Peter Sowerby Building at the Yorkshire Arboretum, but can be streamed via Zoom.

Booking Information

Gardens Talks cost £10 to attend in person or £5 to attend via Zoom. Please book by selecting your preferred option below:

Grow Your Own Oak is a fun activity for families and children. Join us for an autumn walk through the arboretum to gather acorns; learn how to select the best acorns for planting and how to germinate and care for them as they grow.

Due to popular demand, we will be holding one hour sessions at 10am, 11am and 1pm.

It is free to attend but general admission applies.

Drop in and join us.

A chance to focus on how seeds disperse and autumnal noturnal animals in the arboretum - plus making a clay hedgehog! 

We recommend bringing a packed lunch or money for lunch in the Arboretum Café.

Event Information

Our Nature Rangers Day is suitable for children aged five and over. It costs £15 to attend. Booking is essential. Children to be accompanied by an adult (free of charge). Please book below:

Grow Your Own Oak is a fun activity for families and children. Join us for an autumn walk through the arboretum to gather acorns; learn how to select the best acorns for planting and how to germinate and care for them as they grow.

Due to popular demand, we will be holding one hour sessions at 10am, 11am and 1pm.

It is free to attend but general admission applies.

Drop in and join us.

Join our Members' tour of this glorious garden to see the autumn colours. Booking required. Join our tour guide in the Castle Howard Courtyard by 10:20am

Booking Information

This event is for Yorkshire Arboretum Members only. Booking is essential. Join our guide in the Castle Howard courtyard by 10:20am for a 10:30am start

Become a Member

If you’re not already a member of the Yorkshire Arboretum, please visit our Membership section to find out more.

Back by popular demand…

October is the season for fungi. Join in the hunt for fungi around the arboretum, see what you can find and have your specimens identified by our expert, Malcolm Greaves.

Due to popular demand, Malcolm will be running two 2-hour walks this year (10am - 12pm / 1pm - 3pm)- please book to avoid disappointment!

Join our Members' tour of this glorious garden to see the autumn colours. Booking required. Join our tour guide in the Castle Howard Courtyard by 10:20am

A tour is also taking place on Tues 24th Oct

Booking Information

This event is for Yorkshire Arboretum Members only. Booking is essential. Join our guide in the Castle Howard courtyard by 10:20am for a 10:30am start

Please note, NO DOGS are allowed on this walk.

Become a Member

If you’re not already a member of the Yorkshire Arboretum, please visit our Membership section to find out more.

Photography Morning for Beginners with Ryedale Garden Photography

Ideal for beginners or those new to digital photography, this half-day photography workshop with Ryedale Garden Photography is an opportunity to take photographs in the beautiful surroundings of the Yorkshire Arboretum.

The course covers how to use different camera settings and compositions to help you get the most out of your images. Working in a small group, you will be guided to key areas of the garden of trees to make the most of your time there. You will receive advice and support from Dave Bake, an experienced photography teacher.

Booking Information

Please book directly with Dave Bakes’ Ryedale Garden Photography here. The course costs £60 plus a booking fee.

View some of Dave’s work from the arboretum below:

Paddock Cottage

Helen and Colin Crews have a small cottage garden with views across the countryside. The garden is opening for the arboretum at two different points of the year. There are attractive mixed borders and a wide range of plants both in sunny and shaded areas. In particular in early summer there are hellebores, meconopsis and iris. There are also raised vegtable plots, two small glasshouses and a fishpond.

Location: 4 Sudnicton Croft, Westow, YO60 7NB. In Westow take the road (Main Street) signposted Burythorpe & Church. Before reaching a turning to the Church only, turn left down a gravel track signposted Sudnicton Croft on wall.

Parking: Limited parking near house, otherwise on nearby streets

1 Kirk Hill Farm

A chance to see Arboretum Director John Grimshaw's garden in early October when the autumn border plants will be reaching their peak. The garden is also home to Silver Seabright bantams and ornamental pheasants.

Location: 1 Kirk Hill Farm, Settrington, YO17 8NT

Parking: Parking as directed in the adjacent farmyard.

Friends and Life Members are invited to join us for a celebration of the Yorkshire Arboretum on Thursday 5 October between 2.30 and 4.30 pm. We are forever grateful for the support of Life Members and Friends, which allows us to preserve this diverse and botanically rich landscape. The afternoon will start with a walk in the arboretum followed by tea and chat in the Peter Sowerby Building. 

FREE to all Life Members.

Please email visit@yorkshirearboretum.org to book your place.

 Join us at the Yorkshire Arboretum to learn about the current thinking on the diverse assemblage of  mostly European and Asian trees and shrubs that have been widely known as Sorbus to botanists and gardeners, but which have recently been shown to be quite separate lineages deserving recognition as distinct genera.

This study day, the first organised by the IDS Trees and Shrubs Online (TSO) project, will demonstrate why it’s necessary to rethink our concept of “Sorbus”, disentangling the various genera, and teach participants how to recognise them.

The Yorkshire Arboretum has a very comprehensive collection of the group, which will be in fruit and can be compared as living plants and as cut specimens indoors, while a series of talks by experts in the subject will provide the botanical background.

Guest Speakers: John Grimshaw, Hugh McAllister, Ewan Anderson, Keith Rushforth

Tickets £90

FOR MORE DETAILED INFORMATION AND TO BOOK, PLEASE CLICK here.

Roz Los's garden at Ellerker House comprises five acres including parkland. It is home to many mature trees including Corsican pines, Atlantic beech and many oaks, and there is a formal lawn surrounded by colour-themed herbaceous borders for texture and colour throughout the year. A rose archway planted with old English roses leads towards the lake which is surrounded by a woodland pathway made from tree roots and stumps, and extensive woodland.

Location: Everingham.  5½m from Pocklington. Just out of the village heading towards Harswell

On the eve of his exhibition at the arboretum, an opportunity to meet artist Razvan Chisu and see his exhibition as it opens to the public.

The exhibition runs until October 15th.

The evening includes complimentary refreshments.

Free to attend but please book your place below.

It is useful to be able to identify grasses - for botanical surveys, for monitoring grassland, for understanding agriculture and ecosystems, and for enjoying their beauty. Grass identification can be challenging: coming on a beginners day course is an excellent way to start.

This lively, one day course with Dr Judith Allinson is suitable for anyone who would like to start learning how to identify grasses, whether a student, an amateur naturalist, a farmer, a scientist, a botanical or agricultural surveyor, a gardener. Participants will see lots of examples of the grasses growing in slightly different habitats.

Location: Yorkshire Arboretum Tree Health Centre
Tutors: Dr Judith Allinson     Fee: £130
Level: No prior knowledge required
Includes buffet lunch

Please book your place below:

About the Course

Aim

For participants to recognise common species of neutral grassland and a few in woodland, concentrating on those that come into flower early. Participants will learn the vocabulary to describe both vegetative and flowering features of grasses, and thus be able to start using grass keys.

Objectives

• To learn to recognise c. 10 common species of grasses that you can probably find at home too.

• To see a variety of other grasses and have distinctive features pointed out.

• To be introduced to and learn and use the vocabulary needed to describe vegetative features, and grass flowers.

• To be introduced to some of the books helpful for identifying grasses.

The above will be achieved by means of teaching in the classroom, followed by a walk to look for grasses in the grounds of the Yorkshire Arboretum. If there is time we will use a grass key. We will concentrate on grasses in neutral grassland.

Outcomes

By the end of the course, participants will:

• Have a small collection of grasses to take home, including vegetative and flowering specimens. These can be in the form of pressed plants, or grasses stuck onto a sheet with sticky back plastic (or both).

• Have gained confidence in recognising these plants.

• Have been introduced to and learnt the vocabulary needed to describe special features of grasses.

• Have been introduced to some of the books  helpful for identifying grasses.

 Useful Accessories / Notes

• Hand lenses will be available for participants to borrow who do not have a hand lens of their own. If they have them, participants are invited to bring hand lenses and fine tweezers.

• Waterproof clothing and strong footwear are recommended. It is not anticipated that we will be walking very far.

• Notebook, pen, plastic bags can be useful.

Note this is an introductory course. It is hoped to run further courses involving more practice in use of keys, finding more species, and looking at vegetative features.

About the Tutor

Judith (or Dr Judith Allinson) started work as a field biology/botany tutor at Malham Tarn Field Centre. Since then she has worked carrying out botanical surveys for Natural England (and its predecessors) and other organisations, and spent some time school teaching. She has run “Grasses” and “Grasses and Sedges” courses at many Field Studies Council Centres and elsewhere, specialising in identifying grasses using vegetative features.  She co-authored the AIDGAP guide: “British grasses: a punched card key to grasses in the vegetative state.” by Pankhurst and Allinson. She is a past president of the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union.

Contact

For further information about the course please contact the team by email administration@treehealthcentre.org or phone 01653 648598

Lichens are a much unrecorded section of our wildlife. Yet they cover 6-8 percent of the world’s land surface. Recently more people have become aware of the symbiotic relationship of the fungus and alga (or blue-green bacterium) which make up the lichen. 

This one day course with Dr Judith Allinson will take you on a journey of discovery into the world of lichen identification. You will learn how to recognise several common species and gain the vocabulary to describe a new lichen you find to a lichenologist. Suitable for beginners, students, amateur naturalists, and botanical surveyors.

Location: Yorkshire Arboretum Tree Health Centre
Tutors: Dr Judith Allinson     Fee: £130
Level: No prior knowledge required
Includes buffet lunch

Please book your place below:

About the Course

Why

Lichens are a much unrecorded section of our wildlife. Yet they cover 6-8 percent of the world’s land surface. Recently more people have become aware of the symbiotic relationship of the fungus and alga (or blue-green bacterium) which make up the lichen. Look at a lichen under a hand lens and see the rich variety of colours and textures and you will soon become hooked! It is easier to come on a course with a tutor and have the species on a branch pointed out to you than to learn them from a book.

Aim

Participants will learn how to recognise several common species of lichen, gain the vocabulary to describe a new lichen you find to a lichenologist, or read about a lichen in a book. And, to learn how some species of lichen can tell us about pollution levels.

Objectives

• To learn about common species of lichens growing on trees in the Yorkshire Arboretum, that you can probably find at home too. 

• To see a variety of other lichens.

• To be introduced to and learn and use the vocabulary needed to describe lichens.

• To be introduced to some of the books and website pages helpful for identifying lichens.

The above will be achieved by means of teaching in the classroom, followed by a walk to look for lichens on trees in the Yorkshire Arboretum.

Outcomes

By the end of the course, participants will:

• Have a small collection of lichens to take home, many of these are likely to be growing on trees near them in other parts of Yorkshire.

• Seen a variety of other lichens and will have been introduced to and learnt some of the vocabulary needed to describe lichens.

• Be able to say whether a lichen is a crustose, fruticose, or foliose lichen.

• Have seen two simple chemical tests often used to distinguish lichens.

• Have been introduced to some of the books and website pages helpful for identifying lichens.

Useful Accessories

• Hand lenses will be available for participants to borrow who do not have a hand lens of their own.

• If they have them, participants are invited to bring hand lenses, fine tweezers, a mobile phone, or camera with close up facilities. But do not buy one specially for the course!

• The most useful book is Frank Dobson’s “Lichens - An Illustrated Guide to the British and Irish Species” (£35 from the British Lichen society - £5 reduction if you are a member) but as participants are beginners it is not expected that many people will have one.

• Waterproof clothing and strong footwear are recommended. It is not anticipated that we will be walking very far.

• Notebook, pen, plastic bags, sheets of A4 paper or envelopes, and a penknife can also be useful.

About the Tutor

Judith (or Dr Judith Allinson) started work as a botany tutor at Malham Tarn Field Centre. Since then she has worked carrying out botanical surveys for Natural England (and its predecessors) and other organisations, school teaching and teaching Grasses and Sedges courses at Field Studies Council Centres. Over the last ten years her interest in lichens has increased. She currently hosts the Zoom Lichen Chat and Improvement Group for the British Lichen Society, and has served on Council of the British Lichens Society. She is a past president of the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union and is keen to encourage young people to find out about lichens.

Contact

For further information about the course please contact the team by email administration@treehealthcentre.org or phone 01653 648598

Take a dusk walk in the arboretum armed with a bat detector and accompanied by expert Dr Barry Wright. The noises we pick up will help us identify the species that we find.

Please wrap up warmly and bring a torch!

Booking essential - Ticket Price £20

Indoor and outdoor activities to explore the arboretum and learn about the creatures we share it with. There will be hands on activities, so bring a bag to take your creations home with you. We recommend bringing a packed lunch or money for lunch in the Arboretum Café.

Event Information

Our Nature Rangers Day is suitable for children aged five and over. It costs £15 to attend. Booking is essential. Children to be accompanied by an adult (free of charge). Please book below: