Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche is delighted at the good news as he feels the land will be of great benefit to Gomde, Lindholme Hall and will also enable us top contribute positively to protect the environment.
Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche has always said “It would be best if Gomde could own this special land.” We are happy that his wish and aspiration for Gomde at Lindholme Hall will now be fulfilled.
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The Peat Appeal was launched on November 10th 2011 by Heather Skidmore, the widow of Pete Skidmore, internationally renowned local entomologist and conservationist. It’s all in the name. For over half his life Pete campaigned tirelessly for the conservation of Thorne and Hatfield Moors. Heather and Pete’s colleagues, see the land as a fitting memorial to a remarkable man.
Co-operation and Collaboration
Rangjung Yeshe UK will deed the 30 acres of precious peatland in perpetuity for conservation and it will be managed by a group of volunteer experienced conservationists under a higher level environmental stewardship scheme.
Peat lands support an incredible diversity of species, including birds, insects and plants, which are not found in any other habitats on the planet
Several species in the Humberhead peat lands are found nowhere else in Britain.
Peatlands also act as a secret museum to our past. Locked in the peat is an irreplaceable archive dating back perhaps 10,000 years to the last ice age
There has been a dramatic decline and extensive degradation and 94% of lowland raised bog habitat has been 
lost in the last 200 years. Thorne and Hatfield Moors are the largest lowland raised peatbogs in Britain. They encompass a third of all the lowland raised peat lands in England!
Historically, the decline has occurred through agricultural changes, afforestation, and industrial peat extraction.
At Thorne and Hatfield Moors planning permission was granted for industrial peat extraction in the 1950s and both sites have had extensive peat extraction. Thankfully, due to the sustained pressure of conservationists over many years, most, of the peat land is now a national Nature Reserve and in the process of reclamation. However the 30 acre parcel we wish to purchase and conserve is privately owned with an uncertain future.
The designation of SSSI- Site of Special Scientific Interest is a legal designation applied to areas of environmental / wildlife significance. Theoretically the designation requires land owners to manage such land in prescribed ways. As we all know theory and practice are not always the same; enforcing management prescriptions requires much time and money which the statutory organisations are rather short of at the moment.
The 30 acres of peat land is currently in private ownership and has not been actively managed for a number of years; taking care of 30 acres is not an easy job! All the conservationists involved with the Peat Appeal agree that the land requires active management to enhance, promote and protect the areas natural resources, habitat, environmental and wildlife potential.
Rangjung Yeshe UK will deed the land in perpetuity for conservation thus ensuring it is optimally cared for now and for future generations and all based on good science! We are already in negotiation with Natural England and other environmental groups to create a management plan that will ensure the area is safeguarded in reality now and for future generations.
Please help us safeguard this special part of our environment and heritage, protecting England’s very own rainforest!
Interdependence is a core teaching of Buddhism. It acknowledges that we are not isolated individuals but instead one whole made up of all life on earth. Treating all beings with true campassion not only benefits others but leads to personal happiness and ultimately enlightenment. In addition karma, the law of cause and effect, teaches us that all our actions will have a corresponding result now and in the future. Caring for and protecting the environment is therefore wholly in tune with the Buddha’s teachings.
The land is part of the original Lindholme Estate and will ensure Gomde remains private, secluded, protected and be established as a refuge for all beings. The 30 acres, in conservationist terms, is considered to be one of the most important areas of land on the Hatfield Moor as it forms an area of uncut peat and therefore the ‘refugium’ of species for the re-colonisation of the moor.
The resources, situation and size of the Lindholme hall estate present Rangjung Yeshe UK with an auspiscious opportunity to be both an international centre for the practice of Buddhism and a working example of environmental buddhism. Click here to read about our vision.
Under the umbrella of our charity, Rangjung Yeshe UK, the land will be deeded in perpetuity for conservation and be managed by a group of committed, volunteer conservationists; in short it will be responsibly and properly cared for to protect it now and for future generations. Let’s face it- if one believes in reincarnation- we are the future generations!
Sponsorship can be dedicated as a gift. If a donation is ‘gifted’ a ‘Certificate of Sponsorship’ will be provided.
Gomde, Lindholme Hall Estate is a 150 acre island site made up of grassland, heathland, peatland and woodland; it is very beautiful, inspiring and peaceful, with a medieval character.
The estate is located at the centre of the Hatfield Moor National Nature Reserve, a 3,500 acre site which is part of the larger Humberhead Peatlands National Nature Reserve. On the international scale, the moor habitat is as rare as the Amazonian rain forest and is considered an exceptionally precious part of our national heritage. Most of the National Nature Reserve now has protected status both in Britain and Europe, including ´European Special Area of Conservation´, ´Site of Special Scientific Interest´ and SPA for breeding night jar.
Hatfield Moor was, up until the 1990´s, milled for garden peat. The industrial scale of the extraction meant that the moor habitat was systematically being devastated; indeed at one point there were plans to turn the whole area into a land fill site. Many local people vigorously campaigned to save both Thorne and Hatfield Moors and the story of the ´fight for the moors´ is, according to David Bellamy, “a story of the real guts of conservation”. Thanks to the efforts of a few informed, bold and tenacious conservationists the Humberhead Peatlands National Nature Reserve is now the largest reclamation project in Europe.
Peter Skidmore
Peter Skidmore, a nationally and internationally renowned entomologist and conservationist, died in 2009. For over half his life he campaigned tirelessly for the conservation of Thorne and Hatfield Moors as well as surveying, collecting and drawing together information on the flora and fauna of the moors; essential evidence for the conservation campaign.
In August 2010 Peter´s widow, Heather Skidmore a dedicated Christian, came to visit us at Gomde to ask our permission to erect a memorial plaque to Peter on the Lindholme Estate. The meeting had an unpredicted outcome when Heather learnt that Rangjung Yeshe UK had been unable to purchase all the available land from the Lindholme Hall estate in 2009 but had secured an ´Option to Purchase´ the remaining 30 acres. This 30 acres, part of a parcel of land known as Jack´s Piece, is, in conservationist terms, one of the most important areas of land on the Hatfield Moor as it forms an area of uncut peat and therefore the ‘refugium’ of species for the re-colonisation of the moor.
Heather saw, in the option land, an opportunity to create a fitting and lasting memorial to her husband, Peter Skidmore. She has decided to raise money to help us purchase this very rare and special piece of England. Rangjung Yeshe UK will own and ´manage´ the land which will be deeded in perpetuity for conservation and a memorial to Peter Skidmore.
This appeal therefore is directed to many sections of the population; those who care about nature, conservation, the environment, remembering the efforts of a great man and those who acknowledge the importance of spirituality in its many forms.
The purchase of the 30 acre option land has great value for Gomde Lindholme Hall; it completes the purchase of the estate, it ensures that Gomde remains isolated and secluded, it establishes Gomde as a true place of refuge for all beings, now and in the future and, very importantly, it acknowledges and gives proper appreciation to the dedicated efforts of a few special people who protected the ´jewel´ of Lindholme island and the surrounding moor from destruction. In Buddhist terms a wish fulfilling jewel is one which is able to grant the wishes of all, despite their different aspirations; the Peat (skid) Moor is such a jewel as it represents the aspirations and the fulfilment of a dream of all the diverse people and groups who are now involved as well as all the life forms who are dependant upon this rare habitat
To see a short video of an interview with Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche about the importance of caring for the environment click here
