AMID the stress and strain of our daily lives, how many of us actually stop to take in the beauty of nature which surrounds us?

Ryedale provides us with some of the nicest scenery in the country, a fact which is not lost on farmer John Harrison of Settrington.

Over the last 20 years, he has made a point of keeping his camera in the back of his Land Rover wherever he goes. During that time, he has captured the many wonders of nature which lie just beyond our doorstep.

As a result, John has a wealth of photographs which he shares with the public in various slide shows for gardening clubs and other community groups.

His pictures show a wide variety of animals in their natural habitats, including some superb night-time shots of badgers in their setts.

His expansive collection of bird photographs includes pictures of tree creeper, white throat, kestrel and sparrow hawks plus the less common species, redstarts.

Others reveal magnificent views of the area surrounding Settrington, including the Special Site of Scientific Interest (SSSI) and nature reserve called Dove Dale, which is part of Nine Springs Dale - an 11-acre patch of land containing flora and fauna which has remained untouched for hundreds of years.

The reserve includes wild orchids, cowslips, rock roses and cranesbill.

John's love of nature mainly stems from a life of over 40 years as a farmer on Duggleby High Barn Farm, about eight miles from Malton - a job he has combined with running an engineering business, selling and hiring industrial cleaning equipment since 1966. But even at the age of eight, his fascination was developing as he remembers climbing trees in search of birds' nests.

Conservation of wildlife is very important to John. In 1994, he acquired a two-acre paddock outside his home at Settrington and created two wildlife ponds.

These mini-oases for wild species include ducks and geese, many of whom have come from the Ryedale Rehabilitation Centre in Norton run by Jean Thorpe and David Dunn. John has strong links with the centre, for which vet Matt Brash - famous for his appearances on the TV programme Vets in the Country - at Battleflatts Practice in Pocklington provides much of the care given to stray animals.

Over the years, the pond has provided a haven for a number of lost souls - a wild gosling found on the A64 near Knapton, a goose trapped in a fence in Stamford Bridge, and ducks found wandering the streets of Bridlington. A colony of great-crested newts are also breeding in the pond. John thinks they may have appeared due to soil being brought into the village when new houses were built.

He also provides nest boxes in his garden and paddock, one which became the home of a kestrel hawk for several years.

Since 1995, John has shown some of his herd of longhorn cattle at various agricultural shows and won a number of prizes and trophies.

A favourite cow and regular prize-winner has been Fishwick Merry (pictured). Though Merry has had her day, she has produced heifers which, it is hoped, will become show cows.

The longhorn beef is sold by John's daughter under the name High Barn Traditional Foods from The Meat Shed at Settrington.

John's farm is in a stewardship scheme in which he receives a grant from the Government for planting hedges and managing areas of land and strips around fields, especially for wildlife.

He said it is financially viable because of the fall in prices for agricultural produce. But it is also an opportunity for him to encourage the growth of wildlife, specifically voles and other small mammals as food for barn owls.

He and Jean Thorpe took part in a project in which three barn owls were released from Duggleby High Barn two years ago.

The project has been a success ,with three pairs of barn owls having nested in the area of the farm, whereas before there were none.

He believes that farming and conservation of wildlife can go hand in hand.

He said: "Most farmers are generally interested in wildlife and involved in schemes that are helping wildlife.

"Farmers in the past have been encouraged to produce as much food as possible, but there should be a degree of compromise."

John is keen to pass on his passion for nature to younger generations.

He runs a nature club for youngsters called Wildlife Explorers at the village school once a month. The group go pond-dipping, rambling, on mini-beast safaris and receive talks from the RSPCA.

He said: "I try and pass on a bit of my experience and give them something that will stay with them throughout life."

While Ryedale has provided John with much of his inspiration, he has also ventured much farther afield.

He has taken his camera with him to widely-contrasting areas of natural beauty all over the world from nature reserves in India and Kenya (where he visited the Masai Mara) to Iceland, where he saw Minke whales and white-nosed dolphins.

Combining his farm work and engineering business with his slide shows, his nature club and the showing of his longhorn cattle means that John is rarely at a loose end.

Yet he still finds time to sit on the committee of the North Yorkshire Badger Protection Group and on Stillington Parish Council. He is a member of the Malton and Norton Lions and is the chairman of Settrington Bowls Club. How does he cope with such a busy schedule? "I just seem to thrive on it," he said.

Updated: 09:21 Thursday, July 26, 2001