Two weeks ago Hebden Bridge and surrounds, the beautiful valley which I have made my home, was utterly devastated in the worst floods the area has ever experienced.
People here are now starting to fully realise the long term implications. Through the brave smiles and tough Yorkshire humour, there's an overwhelming sense of grim uncertainty and sadness.
I work with many of the area's children and families as a Forest School Leader with one of the most passionate and inspiring people I've ever met and her wonderful small charity Tinderwood Trust.
We run weekly family Forest School sessions which are hugely popular - providing outdoor learning opportunities for young children, masses of fun, much needed cups of tea for frazzled parents and carers and the chance for folks to meet and support each other - all in a gorgeous, wooded, riverside setting.
On Christmas night, our lovely site was ripped apart by the floodwaters.
Unbelievably much of our equipment survived, safe in our hardy shed. However the site itself could take months to recover. We - and the families who rely on these weekly sessions plus the local schools' groups we also run Forest School with - need some help.
We need to replace the perimeter fence (200m of fencing, £900 worth) to keep little people safe. We need to hire a digger to level the land again and to get rid of the nasty sludge (£250).
We need professional consultation and skilled labour to aid the land to recover, to make necessary landscape amendments to prevent further damage and ideally develop another site to continue our work.
We need to replace equipment and the heroic shed's doors.
All this means money. The flood has drastically reduced income and increased expenditure!
If you have been touched at all by the magnitude of what has happened here in Calderdale then please support us to enable a swift recovery and return to providing a much needed and loved resource for our community.
