Community Centre & Art Gallery
Mon 12th May
7 – 10pm
Full Moon Forest Bathing and Walk
Up to 2km on easy terrain. Unfortunately, no disabled access.
Discover how the magic of woods can bring you health and happiness, deep peace and restoration, on a Forest Bathing adventure amongst the wonderful woodlands of Wild Haweswater.
As dusk falls and the full moon rises, you’ll experience the joy of Forest Bathing nature connectedness, discover tools to take back into your daily lives and learn about the incredible impacts for your health: increased immunity, lowered blood pressure, reduced stress and anxiety, improved moods, better sleep and more happiness.
Tues 13th May
7.30 – 9pm
Cumbria’s Temperate Rainforests
Talk at The Old Courthouse
Join Georgia Stephens, Plantlife’s Rainforest Advisor for the North West of England, and discover a little more about this incredibly rare habitat.
These temperate rainforests, rich with moss-covered trees and rare wildlife, once covered 20% of the country. Today, less than 1% remains, scattered in small, fragile fragments. Plantlife is working to protect their long-term future in this area.
Temperate rainforests are magical places, they play a critical role in storing carbon and slowing water runoff from upland fells, helping provide clean water and reducing downstream flooding. Georgia will share her knowledge about their unique structure and habitat features. They are home to incredible biodiversity, from Red Squirrels to Pied Flycatchers, and rare mosses, lichens and fungi with interesting names like Tree Lungwort Lichen and Hazel Gloves Fungus.
Wed 14th May
12 – 2.30pm
Edible plants for beginners- Walk, Talk and Nibbles!
2 – 3km walk on easy terrain, some rough ground, no steep slopes.
Join us for a walk across Lowther Park and into the woods and discover the abundant wild foods growing at this time of the year. Learn to identify edible plants with local expert Jordan Mckeating from Wild Foods UK who will lead you on this fabulous walk. https://www.wildfooduk.com/
Jordan will provide drinks and nibbles at the end of the walk which celebrate natures spring bounty. A ‘foraged taster’ of either fruit leathers or a wild food soup during the walk and hopefully elderflower champagne afterwards.
Thurs 15th May
7.30 – 9pm
Science and Nature- What’s it all about?
Talk at The Old Courthouse
Join Mo Verhoeven, Conservation Scientist from Cumbria Connect and discover more about the wonderful world of Science and Nature.
Why do we record, monitor and evaluate the changes in biodiversity, soils and water before and throughout our nature restoration projects? What is good science and what’s not? Mo will reveal what his team have discovered so far and plans for the future.
Cumbria Connect is the new large-scale nature restoration programme delivering projects throughout the Lowther Valley, Haweswater and Orton Fells.
Fri 16th May
7.30 – 9pm
Beavers and our freshwater fish
Talk at The Old Courthouse
Join us for a screening of Balancing The Scales, a new documentary from the Beaver Trust that dives into the fascinating interactions between beavers and fish.
Stick around after the film for a beaver Q&A with Martin Varley, Programme Manager for Cumbria Connect and Joe Clements Assistant Conservation Manager at Lowther Farming Partnership.
Followed by a Q&A panel to dive deeper into the conversation and hear about beaver locally and what the recent government changes to wild beaver licencing mean for beavers in Cumbria.
Tues 20th May
7.30 – 9pm
Manging Deer for Nature Restoration
Talk at The Old Courthouse
Learn about deer management with Jo Sheehan, Cumbria Connect’s Deer and Venison Project Manager and our plans to restore woodlands, encourage natural regeneration and provide accessible sustainable venison for the community. Tasty venison nibbles will be provided after the talk for you to try from Moveable Feasts.
Jo will share the story of unnaturally high deer numbers in the UK, their ecology and plans to restore the ecological balance and achieve woodland expansion.
The reduction in deer numbers will increase the availability of sustainable Venison in our community. The venison project hopes to increase access to this sustainable meat source. It’s not an exclusive product but could be for everyone. Could venison sausage rolls be on the menu in Primary Schools?
Wed 21st May
7.00 – 8.30pm
Cumbria Lichens
Talk at The Old Courthouse
Join Pete Martin from the Cumbria Lichen and Bryophyte Group and learn all about what lichens are; how we think they work and how we tell them apart.
We’ll discover the different sorts of lichens that you can find in different sorts of wet woodland around Cumbria- and what that might tell us about the woodlands.
Temperate rainforests in the UK are known for their diverse lichen communities, including species like Tree Lungwort (Lobaria pulmonaria), Coral Lichen, and Stricta sylvatica lichen. These lichens are crucial indicators of ancient woodland health and are found thriving in the moist, humid conditions of these rainforests.
Sat 24th May
7.30 – 8.30pm
Deer and Woodland Management Walk
3km walk on easy terrain, few slopes but uneven, muddy ground and stile.
Take a woodland walk with Cumbria Connect and learn about our plans to restore woodlands and encourage natural regeneration through Deer Management.
Jo Sheehan Deer and Venison Project Manager will share the story of unnaturally high deer numbers in the UK, their ecology and plans to restore the ecological balance and achieve woodland expansion.
The reduction in deer numbers will increase the availability of sustainable Venison in our community. The venison project hopes to increase access to this sustainable meat source. It’s not an exclusive product but could be for everyone. Could venison sausage rolls be on the menu in Primary Schools?
Sun 25th May
10am – 12pm
Lichen hunting in Naddle Woods
The walk will be one mile long and be on a track and in grassy fields with uneven ground but not steep. Please bring a hand lens if you have one, though we will have some that can be borrowed. Use a phone/camera to take photos. Wear outdoor gear including boots and waterproofs..
Have a look for lichens on the trees and rocks in Naddle Forest at Wild Haweswater, which is managed by the RSPB and United Utilities.
Lichens are long-lived mini-ecosystems: a symbiosis of fungi, algae and more. They can give an indication of the ecological health of its habitat.
The walk will start at RSPB Naddle Farm and visit common lichens on trees, gates and rocks nearby, including showing the different lichen growth forms. We will also see tree lungwort lichen and the translocations of this species which are still alive after 4 years.