Wishing you a Happy Christmas and best wishes for 2023 from the Becks to Bay Catchment Partnership. It’s been a busy year, with many new initiatives and opportunities. The Landscape Recovery schemes pilots, for which the Duddon was selected are a great step in the right direction for bigger, better, more joined up habitats. The Duddon Valley Partnership will continue to drive this forward in 2023. We’ve also been building a new structure for the partnership. We will continue with…

The consultation on the Local Flood Risk Management Strategy is open until the 30th September. You can find out more and have your say on the Cumbria County Council website.  Cumbria County Council is the Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA). Their plan sets out how local flood risks will be managed throughout the county, who will deliver them and how they may be funded. The Environment Agency continue to manage flood risk on main rivers.

United Utilities have produced their draft Drainage and Wastewater Management Plan which is open for consultation until the 22nd September. This is a long term (2025 – 2050) plan which sets out how United Utilities proposes to ensure robust drainage and wastewater services for the North West. They have engaged a wide range of stakeholders to develop the plan, which is now out for further consultation. The plan has been split into catchments. You can view information for South Cumbria…

The Freshwater Biological Association (FBA) and The Foundation for Water Research recently launched the Freshwater Biology and Ecology Handbook. You can read the full press release here.  The Handbook is now available on the FBA website as a free download, and is a fantastic resource for any interested in riverine biology and ecology. The FBA are planning to develop further training and support alongside this handbook, so please keep an eye on their website for future developments.

“Love Windermere” spells out new era for lake  A new “Love Windermere” partnership sees the biggest ever cooperation of sectors to tackle challenges in the lake The partnership is developing a science-based plan to set out a road map for environmental protection that could be replicated across the UK A group of organisations from across Cumbria has come together in partnership to ensure that Windermere gets the focus it needs to face a challenging future. Nutrients, climate change, more extreme…

A successful partnership approach has been adopted for a feasibility study around 4 copper mines in two valleys across South Cumbria. The intention was to assess a suite of interventions which would deliver environmental benefit to the nearby watercourses whilst not negatively affecting the heritage value of the sites. South Cumbria Rivers Trust led the Environment Agency funded project in partnership with the National Trust and Lake District National Park Authority. Background: Historic copper mines at Greenburn and Tilberthwaite are a…

A meeting of the Becks to Bay partnership was held on 10th February. Partners in attendance included South Cumbria Rivers Trust, Environment Agency, United Utilities, Freshwater Biological Association, Natural England, National Trust, Cumbria County Council, Arnside and Silverdale AONB and local business representatives. The partnership met virtually in the morning to discuss project updates from various partners, including projects and planning for Windermere, recently held workshops in the Duddon Valley and the LIFE R4Ever Kent Project. A review of the…

This week South Cumbria Rivers Trust staff and volunteers were involved in Priority Habitats Training. The training was run by the Freshwater Biological Association. You can find out more information on the SCRT website. 

  South Cumbria Rivers Trust (SCRT) have recently delivered a project to re-connect Great Langdale Beck into the middle basin of Elterwater. The project has been delivered in partnership with the National Trust, as the landowners, Natural England & the Environment Agency. Elterwater is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), formed of three interconnected basins. However, over the years the streams flowing into these basins have been diverted and modified so that connect straight to the outer basin. In 2016,…

World Aquatic Scientific Societies, are highlighting the immense threats faced by aquatic ecosystems and call for urgent action on climate change, during the ongoing COP26 summit. Freshwaters are disproportionately important and disproportionately at risk from climate change and other human pressures. Freshwater ecosystems host 10 times the biodiversity per area than the land and the sea, although they are often overlooked. Freshwater vertebrate populations are declining at a rate almost double that of those on land and in the sea…