News

The juvenile freshwater pearl mussels that have been bred and looked after at the Freshwater Biological Institute, Windermere for the past 9 years were reintroduced to the wild in a Cumbrian river last week.  Over the last few weeks the juveniles have been preparing for their change in conditions from a protected indoor tray with controlled flow to a real river – storm conditions, summer low flows, predators and variable water quality.  To do this the team at FBA had constructed a…

Last Thursday was a stunning sunny day to celebrate the opening of Gowan Bridge, Staveley, Cumbria! The bridge was destroyed by the floods following storm Desmond in December 2015. We have been working hard to help #slowtheflow in the catchment, removing old slate spoils that cause damage downstream and reconnecting the rivers Gowan and Kent to the floodplain at their confluence at Gowan Bridge. If you are interested in joining the river Kent Catchment Partnership, which is open to all, visit…

River Kent Invasive Plants Action Group Himalayan Balsam Work Party Dates 2017 Date Time Meeting point Grid Reference Wed 7th June 09:30-12:30 Scroggs Wood, Kendal meet at car parking area by river bank at bottom of Scroggs Lane SD512 905 Thur 22nd June 09:30-12:30 Sedgewick meet at footbridge on west bank SD508 875 Tues 27th June 09:30-12:30 Romney Bridge, Kendal SD517 915 Sat 1st July 09:30-12:30 Kentmere Hall NY451 041 Tues 4th July 09:30-12:30 Sprint meeting place tbc tbc Mon…

We are joining the celebrations for the opening of the NEW Gowan Bridge in Staveley following the devastating floods caused by storm Desmond in December 2015.  How will you cross the bridge? *Not sure if my white-clawed crayfish suit will be completed by then but fingers-crossed ;)* Come and join in and find out about what we do and how you can get involved too!

Dr Laurence Couldrick, CEO of Westcountry Rivers Trust, discusses catchment resilience.  The effects of climate change and land management practices are very present.  Cumbria is still recovering and learning from the devastating floods caused by Storm Desmond in December 2015, and only last week we have been managing water shortages caused by very low rainfall in April.  This blog fluently expresses the need for multi-sector working in order for truly resilient catchments and communities to become established.

We are your local catchment partnership for South Cumbria. Since summer 2015 we have been working together to build a partnership which functions to conserve and protect the catchments of South Cumbria. This website shows some of the information we have gathered to date, including the current status of our catchments, the main issues and the actions we are putting in place to improve the environment for all: please visit the ‘catchment plan’ tabs to find out more.  Becks to…

Listen to Jayne Wilkinson discussing the NEW ‘Becks To Bay’ website LIVE on BBC Radio Cumbria, Tuesday 2nd May at 8:20am.   Are you a local business? A local Landowner? A member of the public? Find out how you can get involved and share your vision for the future of South Cumbria.

St Oswald’s, Heron Hill, Langdale and Staveley primary schools have been busy learning about freshwater mussels with our Freshwater Pearl Mussel education team, Biffa Award and Nurture Lakeland. Lots of great artwork has been produced and a mini drama created by the students to celebrate the fantastic lifecycle of freshwater mussels finished off the project.  Now you can watch the film here!

It’s #InvasivesWeek run by @CheckCleanDryGB! In #Cumbria we love to spend time on, in and around our beautiful lakes and rivers. Whatever activity you enjoy – angling, swimming, boating, diving, walking, biking and paddling, we all have the potential to introduce and spread freshwater Invasive Non-Native Species (INNS). Cumbria is home to some rare and vulnerable native species such as white-clawed crayfish, pearl mussels, vendace, lampreys and Arctic charr. The survival of these species are being threatened by the intoduction…

As part of our freshwater metals content research, we have taken a series of 20 sediment samples from a number of becks from the top of Little Langdale at Greenburn Reservoir down to Elterwater, and also 5 water samples along the way. The samples are being analysed for metal content to see if the old Greenburn Copper Mine (and all the other mine workings in the valley) are still having an impact on water and sediments downstream – and if…