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We’re pleased to announce our first events of 2019 and a call for volunteers to help us plant 200+ trees over the next few weeks.  Blawith Common & Beacon Tarn Walk on 2nd February, staring at 10am. The walk heads to the Beacon via the tarn then back down through to Sliving Moss. For more details see the events section https://ccc.scrt.co.uk/events/wetlands-day-walk/ Nest Box Workshop on 16th February at the Village Hall, Greenodd. Drop in between 10am and 2.30pm to make a…

2018 started with our best feet forward on a walk in early February to celebrate World Wetlands Day, as there are some of these important but diminishing habitats within the catchment. This was followed up with the building of over twenty new homes for birds and bats at a community drop-in workshop and with students from John Ruskin High School. In the mean time work was also underway to open up some buried becks with de-culverting work and fencing was…

In December around 360 willow whips/rods were planted along the River Crake at Penny Bridge over two sessions, firstly with volunteers and then with 18 Year 6 children from Penny Bridge Academy.   The rods were cut from two existing willow trees, snipped into 40-50cm lengths and pushed into the ground. The trees will help to stabilise the river banks, add shade to cool the water in summer and provide additional habitats for birds and invertebrates. Nest boxes, made by…

Two redd spotting training sessions have taken place recently to help us map where salmon and trout spawning sites are. Wearing cool sunglasses in November volunteers eventually began to “get their eye in” in learning how to spot a redd – the spawning scrape made by salmon and trout. This survey work will help direct future some conservation work. Learn more about the volunteer sessions https://ccc.scrt.co.uk/redds-in-the-beds/   

The recent Coniston and Crake Catchment Partnership Review Night was a great success. Supporters and volunteers heard about the work of the Conserving Coniston & Crake project from Mike and Kath, including 8556 metres of fencing already installed/agreed, 480 metres of watercourses de-culverted, tree planting, activities with 200 students and teachers from John Ruskin HS & Penny Bridge Academy, volunteers contributing 180 days of work and  of 10 events involving over 320 adults and children. Three volunteers also gave brilliant…

Join us for our last events of the year! Wanted: Redd Spotters! Saturday 24th November 10am – 1pm Learn the art of how to spot redds, the spawning scrapes created by salmon and trout. We’ll give hints and tips to help you identify and record them so we can target future conservation work to help these declining species. Indoor introduction at Water Yeat Village Hall before heading to the River Crake at Bouthrey Bridge. Suitable outdoor clothing and footwear essential.…

Read what the team has been up to in October from cleaning gravels and assessing sites across the catchment for improvement works to making bird box kits and PowerPoint presentations https://ccc.scrt.co.uk/blog/a-busy-few-weeks/

The project recently hosted  two demonstration and training session to get the Clean Gravels conservation activity underway on some of the catchment’s becks. The aim is to clean the gravels of spawning sites of salmon, de-silting them to allow a better flow of oxygen through to eggs and fry. The first sessions were very much “see how it goes” and reassuringly worked well, leaving some short sections of becks in an improved state. To read how it was done  https://ccc.scrt.co.uk/clean-gravels-2019/ More…

Conserving Coniston and Crake project team have been working hard; thinking and organising exciting training and volunteer opportunities for you to come and get involved in. There are two gravel cleaning training sessions in October, so you can learn about their importance, especially when it comes to salmonid spawning! We have been out testing the equipment ready for you…Why not give it a go? In November, you will have the opportunity to count redds, the spawning scrapes created by salmonids, in…

The Bat Walk was a great success – there were people, the weather was just right and we saw plenty of bats! Water Park Lakeland Adventure Centre have them roosting in their buildings and grounds and using special bat detectors we could hear their conversations and echo-location as a series of clicks. Rich Flight from South Cumbria Bat Group shared his knowledge with us and we finished with seeing bats swooping low over Coniston Water. For more on this story https://ccc.scrt.co.uk/going-batty/