My Peak Dis trict Dr Rhyddhi Chakraborty She grew up against a backdrop of the Himalayas, but it was the Peak District’s dramatic landscapes which really won the heart of Dr Rhyddhi Chakraborty, as Fiona Stubbs discovers... Dr Rhyddhi Chakraborty is a Peak District Mosaic champion. She splits her time between her home in Sheffield and Uxbridge, Middlesex, where she is based for work.
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first came to England in 2015, after marrying my British Asian husband, Swagata Chatterjee. My first impression of the country was of blue skies and greenery and I was already enjoying the picturesque English countryside, with its horses, foxes, birds and seasonal flowers, when my husband introduced me to the Peak District that summer. As we drove through the hills, I was mesmerised by the beauty of the National Park and started to wonder how I could visit the place more often!
One of Rhyddhi’s favourite places is Stanage Edge.
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www.peakdistrict.gov.uk
I was really impressed by the differently coloured hills which are actually very accessible. Being Indian, I was very much used to seeing the magnificent mountains of the Himalayas and was aware that the Himalaya Range is young fold (formed by the folding of the earth’s crust due to tectonic activity). I found myself wanting to learn more about the history and geography of the Peak District’s hills. In 2016, I was making frequent trips to Sheffield for work but was increasingly frustrated that I had hardly any chance
to be close to nature in the Peak District. Then, one of my previous professors from the USA visited England for a conference and introduced me to another delegate, who happened to be a Peak District Mosaic champion and volunteer ranger alongside her academic job. Peak District Mosaic is a registered charity which encourages people from Black, Asian, Minority and Ethnic (BAME) groups living in Sheffield, Manchester and Derby to explore the National Park and help in its conservation. Gradually, I became a Mosaic champion, training in map navigation, leading guided walks and learning more about nature,
