Background
Swinton Estate is one of the largest privately run estates in England, owned by the Cunliffe-Lister family since 1880s’. The estate comprises 20,000 acres of North Yorkshire countryside, stretching from the River Ure to the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
The estate is home to Swinton Park Hotel, various other accommodation facilities, restaurants, wellness and spa facilities, a cookery school and various other amenities.
Swinton Estate manages over 7,000 acres of open moorland and 1,700 acres of woodland. They work with government organisations, partnerships and expert advisors to deliver effective environmental and conservation policies.
In 2025 Groundwork worked with Swinton Estate and the North Yorkshire Growth Hub to deliver two days of environmental training and volunteering activities to a cohort of 13 people from various industries.
Carbon Literacy Training
Participants spent two consecutive Fridays, with each day divided into morning Carbon Literacy training and afternoon nature based tasks on the Estate.
Groundwork’s Environmental Trainer, Eleanor Carter, delivered the Carbon Literacy training, covering four main topics across the two-days:
- The science of climate change
- The impacts of climate change on a global and local level
- Climate policy, the role of SMEs and the co-benefits of climate action
- Individual and collective action towards carbon reduction in the workplace
At the end of the environmental training, each person made two pledges to reduce emissions, focusing on feasible and impactful actions within their sphere of influence. The pledges included an individual action and a collective action within the workplace, aimed at driving change and fostering a low-carbon culture.
Pledges included:
I will be bringing sustainability and our carbon footprint up as a permanent addition to our weekly Wednesday team meetings
Action For Nature
Groundwork’s nature specialists facilitated volunteering activities on the Swinton Estate, which blended practical nature-based activities and educational discussion, increasing participants understanding of the nature crisis and how nature-based solutions are essential in tackling the climate crisis.
The participants’ efforts in planting oak, maple, and rowan saplings, along with clearing invasive species, have made significant progress in developing a new woodland area on the Estate.
