A project is to be launched to develop a new partnership between conservation organisations working in and around the Yorkshire Dales and urban community groups.

The aim of the scheme — one of two in the region to be funded by the new Access to Nature programme — is to build greater access and understanding.

The other regional initiative is Wheely Natural, which will help people get out and about by providing structured cycling sessions in the local countryside, including providing specifically adapted cycles for use by people with disabilities.

Access to Nature — a £25 million lottery-funded grant programme — is devised by Natural England and will create opportunities for people from all backgrounds to have greater access to the natural environment.

Nationally, it has given £1.2 million to The Woodland Trust for its Visitwoods scheme, to encourage people to visit woods across England, and £960,000 to Let Nature Feed Your Senses — a partnership project between LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming) and the Sensory Trust.

Its aim is to develop greater understanding of the relationship between nature, farming, food and people’s everyday lives.

Announcing the new grants, Helen Phillips, chief executive of Natural England, said: “Everyone should be given the chance to get out and enjoy what our woods, parks and nature reserves have to offer.

“It is clear that encouraging people to get out and about in the natural environment is one of the keys to boosting physical and mental health, to encouraging children’s sense of discovery and independence and to developing our understanding of the environmental challenges society is now facing.

“Through these grants we will be opening new doors to those who want to enjoy the enormous benefits that regular connection with the natural environment can provide.

“Over the next three years we’re looking to put one million more children in touch with the natural environment through supporting trips to the countryside or to areas closer to their home turf.

“The exciting Access to Nature projects announced today will go a long way to making this a reality, not only for children but for all those looking to benefit from regular involvement with local green spaces.”