About the event

Join Yorkshire Wildlife Trust for a captivating event uncovering Askham Bog’s 15,000 year geological origins, its unique layers of ancient history and its status as one of the region’s most ecologically diverse wildlife havens.

Askham Bog is one of the most extraordinary natural treasures in Northern England, described by Sir David Attenborough as a ‘cathedral of nature conservation’.

Join our panel of experts – including Rachael Bice, YWT CEO and Professor Alastair Fitter, President of YWT for a captivating event uncovering the bog’s 15,000-year geological origins, its unique layers of ancient history, and its status as one of the region’s most ecologically diverse wildlife havens.

Learn why this rare remnant of ancient peatland has become deeply woven into York’s cultural and environmental heritage. You’ll also hear the inspirational story of how the people of York and conservationists helped protect this irreplaceable landscape from modern development threats -continuing a legacy that champions biodiversity and natural beauty.

Don’t miss this immersive journey into the heart of one of Yorkshire’s most remarkable wild spaces.

About the speakers
 

Rachael Bice is CEO of the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust. Rachael moved to Yorkshire in 2019 from Cornwall to lead the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust team. She brought 20 years of experience across the public sector, mainly focussed on strategic change through partnership and policy development. 

She has a deep passion for personal growth, our relationship with animals and the environment, and seeks out the wild whenever she can, now often in the Dales and North York Moors. These passions are reflected in her academic studies of Land Economy, Equine Science and Anthrozoology, and a desire to create mainstream ideas from eco-psychology and deep-ecology. She is an RSA Fellow and a member of Homeward Bound, an international leadership network for women seeking to create a more sustainable world.

Professor Alastair Fitter is President of the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust. An ecologist and naturalist, he retired from the University of York in 2012, where he is Professor Emeritus of Ecology. Alastair was awarded a CBE in 2007 for services to environmental science and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2005. He has been a member of the YWT for over 50 years and has had a long involvement with its founding reserve, Askham Bog.

David Craven is Head of Operations – East. He began his career at the Yorkshire Museum, later he moved into leadership positions at the National STEM Learning Centre. Since 2018, he has worked for Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, where he manages reserve teams across the Vale of York, East Riding, Hull and the Humber. His expertise spans natural sciences, public engagement and connecting science, history, and culture.