News

South Cumbria Rivers Trust have collaborated with The University of Cumbria on an exciting commission of MSc research. This one-year part funded project by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) will put a spotlight on Cumbria and factors affecting and contributing to changes in the environment. Lucy Stevens, an MSc Eco-System Services Evaluation student, was successfully awarded the project with SCRT, with the research focus on Invasive Non-Native Species (INNS). INNS are fast spreading, non-native species that cause damage to…

At SCRT, we know that we wouldn’t be anywhere without the hard work of our dedicated volunteers. Every year the River Kent Invasive Plants Action Group organise and coordinate Balsam Bashing events around the river Kent. Himalayan Balsam is a non-native invasive plant species that commonly grows near waterways and river banks. It  can have a significant ecological impact, as it grows persistently and suppresses native species and other flora. Last year, our volunteers visited Bowston, near Kendal and carried…

Our Conserving Coniston and Crake team, in conjunction with the Butterfly Conservation and the Becks to Bay Partnership, have been carrying out wildlife surveys. Jayne and Kath have delivered some training to keen volunteers, that survey local buffer strips and collect information about the wildlife in this area. This information will allow us to track the development and track to hopeful increase in biodiversity. Please see here for further information: BUFFER STRIP TRAINING

South Cumbria Rivers Trust are currently working up a proposal to remove Bowston weir, near Burneside in South Cumbria. Discussions are still underway but in the meantime we encourage you to check the Bowston Question & Answer Document. We have conducted a number of investigations into the removal proposal and a full design report can be found here. A flood risk assessment has also been carried out which can be viewed here: flood risk assessment. If you have any additional questions or…

Matt Carroll, our project officer has been working on Spannel Beck, to the South of Cartmel Fell. Spannel Beck is a tributary of the River Winster in South Cumbria. The project incorporated watercourse fencing, formalised hard standing crossing points and alternative livestock drinking solutions, that will improve over 800 metres of aquatic habitat. The beck suffered from excessive livestock poaching and sedimentation. Fencing has meant that the livestock will be excluded from the watercourse and will no longer be able…

Matt Carroll, our project delivery officer, has been working on a getting a 55 metre section of river in the Rusland Pool area, de-culverted over the last few months. A culvert is a buried structure that allows water to flow under a road, field, trail etc from one side to another without obstruction. The site forms part of a wetland area and by de-culverting the site, the natural stream habitat can now be restored; quickly benefiting fish, invertebrates and other…

In 2017, the SCRT team took on a ‘green’ engineering bank protection project on the River Mint. This meant driving and fixing large tree stumps with attached root plates, known as ‘root wads’ into the river bank. This technique is used as the protruding root plates act as a means of dissipating the rivers energy, therefore reducing the erosive power of the river. We have just completed this project by planting trees between the fencing and bank protection. Introducing a riparian…

We have just finished installing ten Large-Woody Debris structures (LWDs) at a small beck near Windermere, as part of our Natural Flood Management (NFM) programme. NFM aims to reduce or delay the arrival of flood waters downstream, allowing for increased time to prepare for flooding events. This is brought about by restricting the progress of water using natural features and a variety of different techniques- one being Large Woody Debris (LWDs).Other techniques include: creating wetlands, bank restoration, land and soil…

November 2018- SCRT started delivery work on a de-culverting project at Crosthwaite, Cumbria that had been worked up for several months. Funding for the project came from rod licence revenue as well as from crowdfunding, as part of the Dutch WWF dam removal campaign. South Cumbria Rivers Trust are the first to get crowdfunding for a barrier removal. The project was in two stages, working with two separate landowners to remove a significant proportion of the once current culvert. The…

BACK TO BASICS WITH BECKS TO BAY There are many different projects and partnerships that SCRT staff are working and involved in, at any one time. Becks to Bay, a group of local organisations, work together as a partnership under the national Catchment Based Approach initiative. It is something that SCRT have been a proud member of for 4 years but many people don’t know what it is or why it is so important. We want to change that. The…