Reports

JENNY GARBE West Cumbria Rivers Trust “Rewilding Walkmill” 5th March

A major four year conservation project is happening at Walkmill, Moresby and Jenny Garbe from the West Cumbria Rivers Trust came to tell us all about it.

After the closure of the coal mine lots of trees had been planted during the 1990’s in an initial project to rewild the 36 hectare site.
The area was later acquired by Moresby Parish Council in order to stop development and to save the site for wildlife and the local community.

Jenny told us about West Cumbria Rivers Trust’s conservation team and the small army of volunteers helping them turn this former coal mine into a haven for wildlife - 3,500 hours of work and counting.

WCRT resurfaced the paths to make them more accessible alongside huge changes to the river from the sterile concreted sluice created by the mine back to the more natural and wildlife friendly meandering river of today. Several additional ponds have been also been created.

She told us about the area’s management and the project’s funding (National Lottery, Sellafield and lots of fundraising) and brought us up to date with their 3 strands of activities -
Shaping the woodland,
Sharing the woodland and
Sustaining the woodland
We also heard about the volunteering groups, their wellness and crafts events and their forest schools & guided walks.
The group were fascinated to hear about this great project and their plans for the future.