NATURE-lovers will have the rare treat of being able to take photos of a barn owl during one of a series of day-long events on a Langstrothdale farm that will also help raise funds for the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust (YWT).

Using its purpose-built hides and hi-tech field centre, and with a wildlife haven as the backdrop, Nethergill Farm in Oughtershaw, near Buckden, has teamed up with the trust to run two workshops enabling people to brush up on their wildlife photography and wildflower identification skills.

A third day organised by Nethergill will give budding artists the chance to capture the surrounding panoramic landscape in watercolour.

Next Saturday, June 13, keen photographers will have the rare chance of taking photos of Wispa the barn owl, courtesy of Ripon-based Owl Adventures, during a day spent with Simon Phillpotts, a renowned Yorkshire Dales wildlife photographer.

Simon will share his fieldcraft and camera skills expertise to enable beginner and intermediate photographers to improve their chances of taking photos of birds, including waders and woodpeckers.

Caroline Thorogood, YWT’s director of operations, will hold a wildflower identification day on Saturday, July 25, making the most of Nethergill’s field centre and the farm’s restored ancient hay meadows to provide budding botanists with the skills to learn the "big nine" plant families in the UK.

Then on Saturday, August 1, Yorkshire artist Rachel McNaughton, whose work is often inspired by the county’s countryside, will teach the techniques and skills that will enable even first-time artists to capture the Dales landscape in watercolour.

The days run from 10am and 4pm and cost between £80 and £95 per person which includes homemade lunch and refreshments. Pre-booking is essential.

The events are part of an on-going partnership between Nethergill and the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust which has been instrumental in helping enhance the wildlife habitat and creating the ‘farm reserve’.

Fiona Clark, who runs Nethergill with her husband, Chris, said: “It is great to be able to support the trust by hosting these events which will help bring people closer to their surroundings and learn more skills that will enable them to get the most out of the countryside.”

For more information, contact Fiona Clark on 01756 761126 or email fiona.clark@nethergill.co.uk