Dr Neil Hudson, MP for Penrith and The Border, has officially opened the Lake District’s largest native tree and wildflower nursery at RSPB Haweswater.
The nursery is capable of growing thousands of trees and wildflower plugs every year and was made possible thanks to a grant of £249,900 from the Defra Green Recovery Challenge Fund, as well as £150,000 in matched funding from landowner United Utilities.
Tree saplings and wildflowers gown on site will help support habitat restoration work across RSPB Haweswater. Increasing the amount of woodland and scrub will provide a more secure future for threatened woodland wildlife like red squirrels, pied flycatchers and redstarts.
By planting these trees and plants and restoring the habitats in the area, it will improve the catchment’s resilience to climate change and improve the raw water quality in the reservoir at Haweswater.
Holly and oak saplings were the first to be planted in the newly expanded nursery. These will be joined by specialist species like juniper, globeflower and downy willow. Stock from the nursery will also be used to supply other partners in the local area, allowing native plants to be grown to aid habitat restoration elsewhere in the Lake District National Park, including United Utilities’ Thirlmere estate.
Along with playing a key role in helping to restore upland habitats, the nursey project has created vital new jobs. Three new full-time members of staff are now employed on site, along with a seasonal research assistant. Green-fingered volunteers have supported the project by collecting seeds and berries from across the reserve, and helping to shovel hundreds of tonnes of soil to fill the nursery’s beds.
Dr Hudson said: “It is a pleasure to be able to support such an exciting and ambitious project. The nursery will play a significant role in helping to support habitat restoration and increase biodiversity, not only at RSPB Haweswater but across the National Park.
“The need to support innovative projects that aid nature restoration, create and sustain jobs in our rural communities, and help more people connect with our precious natural environment has never been greater.”
Lee Schofield, Senior Site Manager at RSPB Haweswater, said: “Many of the habitats and species that we value at RSPB Haweswater, such as the alpine plants and ancient woods, have really suffered due to the way the uplands have been managed over centuries.
“Having a nursery capable of producing thousands of locally grown native saplings to plant in the surrounding landscape will make a huge difference in helping to reverse those declines, while at the same time supporting efforts to fight climate change.
“It has taken more than a year of planning and hard work to reach this point and I’m immensely grateful to all our staff and volunteers, as well as to Neil for officially opening the nursery. This project is another demonstration that nature conservation and sustainable farming can go hand in hand.”
John Gorst, Catchment Partnership Officer for United Utilities, said: “It was fantastic to welcome Neil to the nursery to mark its opening and talk about the important role it will play in helping to restore habitats across the Lake District.
“The tree nursery is a great example of how our partnership with the RSPB at Haweswater is helping the local environment and will ultimately contribute to a landscape more resilient to changing weather patterns, which will bring improved raw water quality.”
