Introducing YDMT Youth Ambassador Hannah Russell!

November 19, 2023

We are delighted to welcome Hannah Russell as our YDMT Youth Ambassador!

Hannah is a Yorkshire Dales author and entrepreneur, who loves the outdoors and animals. Along with authoring a best-selling book collection about her pony Alf and his friends, Hannah has now opened her small holding up to the public for animal experiences, animal assisted therapy, group visits, workshops and more.

Hannah’s passions align perfectly with the work of  YDMT and we think she will help us inspire more young people to care about the environment and all the work we do to protect it.

About Hannah

A lot of my work heavily centres on the outdoors and animal kingdom. For as long as I can remember, I’ve spent time outdoors in the Dales, in all weather conditions and loved the wildlife and nature that surrounds it. Now my work is very much outdoors at Swinton Green Animal Experiences. I live on a 16-acre small holding where I run animal experiences, but I also offer educational courses and workshops throughout the year.

On the small holding I have areas for wildflower meadows, new trees being planted, vegetable plots and lots of flower beds. I love growing and encouraging bees and butterflies through the summer months and plan to develop these more in the years ahead. I’ve just taken on an additional seven acres and plan to use this area for flower patches and tree planting offering a sensory area for visitors in the future.

A big part of my work is working with individuals with additional needs and disabilities but also people who feel they might simply enjoy some time outside, because being outdoors is for everyone and I’m passionate about making it accessible.

Even when I’m not working at home, you’ll often find me out walking my dogs – Winston, Elvis, Sasha and Pip, fly-fishing or clay shooting, so I spent a lot of time out and about!

About being YDMT’s Youth Ambassador

I’m delighted to be the Youth Ambassador for the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust. It’s important to me to help inspire young people to get involved in tackling the various environmental challenges we face today. I feel if we educate and empower young people, they will help raise awareness in the years ahead, and put in to practice everything they learn which will help make a larger impact on the environment and create a greener future for everyone.

I love that the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust does so much great work in the Dales. I spent my childhood and school years exploring the Dales, walking, visiting new areas and trekking with my Pony Badger. The dry stone walls and rolling hills provide stunning scenery, and seeing what the Trust does to help enhance the area made me feel that this was a great organisation to get involved with as it aligns so much with my own work – a small charity doing big things in the Yorkshire Dales!

As a children’s author, I work a lot with schools, families and young individuals. I feel that myself and YDMT have many of the same goals in aiming to educate, encourage, and empower young people through access to wildlife and conservation, which also has huge benefits for the landscape. I’m hoping I can help spread this message across my social platforms and when public speaking at events.

For me, being outdoors and spending time with the animals is a great way to switch off and take time away from work, social media and the challenges we sometimes face in life. I’m always learning at the small holding and still working on my own knowledge to help others so I’m excited to take on this new role and work together with the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust to help create a thriving Yorkshire Dales that everyone can benefit from.

Find out more about Hannah’s work by visiting her website.

You can also follow her on Instagram and Facebook