The Larches - Environmentally Friendly Lakeland Cottage

Last week we had a fascinating afternoon up in Whinlatter Forest learning how to survey an area to assess the presence of the red squirrel population. Whinlatter is the flagship red squirrel area in northern England.

The event was organised for The Friends of Whinlatter Forest with the Red Squirrels Northern England (RSNE) Project, which has received support recently from Prince Charles. The aim of the project is to safeguard red squirrels in the north and increase their numbers.

We started with a session inside where Charlotte Widgery from the RSNE project explained that the Whinlatter and Dodd Wood area contains about 200 red squirrels and described the signs to look for to assess where and whether the squirrels are active. These include their typical feeding areas and the different ways squirrels husk cones compared with mice.

The outside part of the course involved us in walking very slowly a typical transect route in the forest of about 1 kilometre, in baiting an area in advance of a survey and in setting up food traps for obtaining hair traces of the squirrels. These enable the research team to identify if the squirrel in question is a red or grey one. We are now trained volunteer surveyors and will be undertaking our first survey above The Larches over a two week period in May.

Yesterday an environmental project in the northern lakes, started in 2007, came to an end. Funded with  a Heritage Lottery grant for three years, Bassenthwaite Reflections has been a consortium involving DEFRA, the Lake District Planning Board, the National Trust, the Forestry Commission and several other bodies. The staff involved have done a great job.

The key problem identified had been the increasing degradation of water in Bassenthwaite which was an immediate danger to the wide variety of wildlife dependent on the lake. Most well known are the ospreys, which visit annually and the vendace fish from the Ice Age. The project covered the whole of the 350 square kilometre catchment area which feeds its water into Bassenthwaite stretching as far as Thirlmere and Troutbeck near Keswick.

Established to deal with these problems of polluted ground water, land erosion, mine waste, threats to wildlife, excess phosphates, algae growth on the lake and invasive species like Himalayan Balsam on watercourses, it’s run over 30 practical projects on the ground as well as events to alert people to the need for improving the environment.

It has also had a very successful educational programme to alert the community to what can be done by individuals to support a more bio-diverse environment. Details of some of these like the Miles without stiles programme and the Oakwood Volunteers scheme can be found on the project website.

There are also seven fascinating maps on a 1:7500 scale of the historical development of the woodlands round Derwentwater, showing springs, saw pits, charcoal burning platforms, hog holes and other features. These were part of the Hidden Heritage project and can be copied for some fascinating walks.

Another success has been the Dubwath Meadows project, just three miles from The Larches, near the Pheasant Hotel. This has created a marvellous habitat for birdlife with raised walkways through the marshy ground. (See photo at the top) Well worth a visit!

I talked this week to Amanda Hancock from the project, who also works for the Forestry Commission, about the future and was pleased to hear that the work will still be continued through the partner bodies involved and several voluntary groups. More current information can be found at the partnership website. Let’s hope that Bassenthwaite below Skiddaw and Ullock Pike (see photo below) will continue to delight us as it has done over the generations.