News

Lambrigg Beck is part of the River Kent, which is a Special Site of Scientific Interest (SSSI) and Special Area of Conservation (SAC). A reach of the beck was identified to have a number of concerns; it had been straightened, embanked in places, revetted with artificial bank protection and cleared of natural tree debris material, crucial for fish habitat. The project also identified a weir upstream affecting fish migration and the hydro-morphology of the beck as well as two natural flood…

We held two Family River Dipping sessions this summer, with 40 adults & children exploring the River Kent at Levens Hall and the beck at Hoathwaite Campsite, Coniston. We found plenty of minibeasts, some small fish and even an eel. A big thank you to both Levens Hall and the National Trust and to all the volunteers who helped.

We have taken the decision to cancel tomorrow’s balsam bashing at Bell Beck. This is due to the poor weather forecast which would make working conditions difficult and a low level of interest. We apologise for any inconvenience but hope you can join us on Thursday 12th August instead.

Explore the becks, bash the balsam – take your pick as we’ve got lots to keep you busy this summer. https://scrt.co.uk/events/

Saturday 10th July 2021 9.30am – 1.30pm Big Balsam Bash We’ve teamed up once more with Friends of the Lake District to continue the fight against Himalayan balsam around the Rydal area. It is a very pesky, invasive species and persistence is key, as it can creep back again. Following last years efforts we’re back to bash it again!  Most of the work involves pulling it by hand and breaking the stem at the root but its very satisfying indeed.…

As part of the Conserving Coniston & Crake project, local artist Dan Fox was commissioned to produce a short film about the River Crake. A camera set up in a riverside garden captured an image every ten minutes over the course of a year. In total over 40,000 images were stitched together with some time lapse filming to produce a beautiful short film that follows the river from Coniston Water to Greenodd.. It shows the rise and fall of the…

Conserving Coniston & Crake NLHF Project The National Lottery Heritage Fund project Conserving Coniston and Crake has come to an end. The three and half year project has helped protect, monitor and restore the freshwater environment of Coniston Water, the River Crake and the wider catchment area, through a programme of conservation, community engagement and education. Running from 2017 to 2021, it was a South Cumbria Rivers Trust project initiated and run by Coniston and Crake Catchment Partnership, with countless…

Tilberthwaite & Greenburn Mines In December 2020, SCRT were awarded funding for a feasibility study to investigate and identify options to remediate copper contamination on downstream watercourses from the mines at Greenburn and Tilberthwaite. SCRT are working in partnership with the Environment Agency, who are funding the project, as well as the National Trust and the Lake District National Park, who are both landowners in the area and whose knowledge in heritage and mine waters is of great assistance to…

SCRT have just finished another Natural Flood Management (NFM) project at Colthouse beck near Hawkshead. The project, funded by Cumbria County Council is a collaborative project with SCRT as project lead, National Trust as the landowners, contractors Catchment Designs Ltd and the Enviornment Agency. The works that are being carried out include: 1) the de-culverting of the existing stone-walled culvert at the top of the site, 2) the creation of a re-profiled open watercourse channel, 3) the creation of two…

Riverfly report SCRT have a Riverfly monitoring programme in which volunteers get involved to survey and protect the health of the local rivers and becks in South Cumbria. This initiative provides a simple monitoring technique which we can use to detect any severe perturbations in river water quality. That’s because the common characteristics of riverfly; their limited mobility, relatively long life cycle, presence throughout the year and specific tolerances to changes in environmental conditions make them powerful biological indicators to monitor water…