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…
It is with great sadness that we pass on the news that our friend and Trustee Ian McMurdo has passed away. He was a great champion of our trust and a huge support for all the staff over many differing projects over many years and his death is a very big loss to us all. He was a great man and will be sorely missed. Our condolences go out to his family and friends at this sad time. There has been a…
South Cumbria Rivers Trust have secured funding from South Lakeland District Council (SLDC) for an exciting and innovative carbon reduction project. Our Cool Rivers will produce up-to-date maps of tree cover, species and approximate age/maturity to create action plans for future tree planting and riparian fencing work. Thanks to SLDC for supporting our project. Take a look at who else secured funding here: Carbon reduction projects receive cash boosts from SLDC fund (southlakeland.gov.uk)
South Cumbria Rivers Trust have just removed a small weir in the Grizedale catchment in South Cumbria. This project was a low-risk barrier removal funded by the Environment Agency. Watch the video to learn more about the project, why the removal of barriers are important and the weir itself being removed!
The Conserving Coniston & Crake project has produced a good practice guide for owners of septic tanks and why looking after them matters to our becks and lakes. The guide offers advice on how they should be maintained, when they need to be emptied and what should or shouldn’t go into them. Whilst it has been written by the Coniston & Crake team, the information is applicable to anyone anywhere with a septic tank. Find the guide HERE. The guide…