Valley-scale nature recovery in the Duddon Valley

An amazing collective of people in the Duddon Valley are working together to make long term, valley-wide changes that will restore rivers, improve soil and reverse the decline in nature.

The Upper Duddon Landscape Recovery Project aims to restore nature over nearly 3,000 hectares; and protect and enhance species native to the area. With farmers at the heart of the project, the team are developing a way of land management that allows both farming and nature to thrive.

One of 22 projects to get a share of DeFRA’s £12million Landscape Recovery fund, the project is being used as a ‘test bed’ for how future Environmental Land Management payments might work.

One of the reasons the project has hit the ground running, is that many of key people already have a good working relationship. The project builds on existing environmental projects in the area:

The Restoring Hardknott Forest project will continue to work with Forestry England to restore native woodland on their site. The South Cumbria Rivers Trust will explore possible river restoration work. The University of Cumbria’s Back On Our Map project will contribute to the recovery of rare flora and fauna. The National Trust and Natural England will continue to work with local farmers towards sustainable and environmentally-friendly land management. And Leeds University is overseeing the whole project and providing essential research and analysis.

I joined a group of interested parties to see the project on the ground and was struck by how much the local community were involved. Local people from all walks of life are making it a success – land owners, farmers, environmentalists and keen volunteers - helping build leaky dams, plant trees and carry out fish surveys.