Conservation Grant Schemes

Obtaining grants for woodland work is still difficult. If you fulfil certain criteria it is now possible to get grants for planting small native woodlands (up to 1 ha) and managing low intensive woodland management. Grants are currently only available through the Higher Level Stewardship of Defra's Environmental Stewardship scheme. A pre-requisite is that landowners have their land registered and have entered into the Entry Level Stewardship.

The Forestry Commission is opening a new suite of grants called the English Woodland Grant Scheme from 18th July until 30th September 2005. This scheme is designed to support the sustainable management and improvement of existing woodland, and the creation of well designed new woodlands. This scheme aims to serve maximum public benefits and is competitive. ECCP continues to give advice to all in East Cumbria on woodland management and planting, so that people in East Cumbria can benefit from the grants.

Woodland business advice is available through Cumbria Woodlands, together with a programme of woodland skills and craft courses.

Local Wildlife News

Help in the conservation of the red squirrel by recording your sightings of our most enchanting native mammal. Cumbria Wildlife Trust (CWT) are trying to get an accurate picture of where red Squirrels still thrive and you can help. This will enable them to undertake important conservation work in the right place. Contact CWT for an information pack and recording forms.

RSPB's round-the-clock guard on Geltsdale's nest of a pair of England's rarest birds of prey has resulted in a baby boom this summer. A pair of hen harriers has successfully reared five chicks! Dave O'Hara of the RSPB tells us that the breeding pair were first-time nesters and that he was not optimistic that they would be successful, so for them to rear five chicks is an amazing achievement. Their success at Geltsdale this year shows that there is plenty of suitable habitat and food on the reserve for harriers to nest and rear a family. Three of the harrier chicks have been fitted with tiny radio transmitters so that their movements can be closely monitored in future. This will help us to understand where they go during winter.

For more information contact the RSPB.

Advice & Conservation Work

We are helping English Nature with their programme of restoring wetland and bog habitats on the Solway Mosses series of nature reserves. After years of neglect, these sites are in danger of drying out due to tree roots pumping water out of the peaty soil. The scrub clearance work undertaken as part of a seven year contract won from English Nature, revealed that 2,812 trees remained. For the moss habitat to flourish, most of these trees should be removed.