£4m project to enhance wildlife habitats in Cumbria

More than £4 million is being spent restoring some of Cumbria's largest wildlife habitats in a major scheme.

The Cumbria Connect project will see landowners, farmers and conservationists join forces to restore more than 34 ha of woodland, peatland and wetlands. The group said its first project would be to boost Water Vole populations, one of the county's most threatened native species.

As well as enhancing the fells, ancient woodlands, peatlands, lakes and rivers, the project will try to boost Red Squirrel populations as well as birds such as Ring Ouzel and Pied Flycatcher.

The Cumbria Connect project will see landowners, farmers and conservationists join forces to restore more than 34 ha of habitat (Glyn Sellors).

The project will create 10 new jobs in the fields of conservation advice for land managers and scientific research, and will also offer opportunities to PhD students and support farming apprenticeships.

David Morris, RSPB area manager for Cumbria, said: "Traditionally, the landscape has hosted a diverse agricultural economy with mixed farming practices, creating a rich rural landscape.

"However, post-war agricultural policies intensified land management and impacted vulnerable habitats, the wildlife that lives in them and how the landscape functions ecologically for those who live, work and visit here too. This programme will harness the collective knowledge and resources of the partnership to forge a path to redress some of that."

Organisations involved include the Orton Fells Farm Cluster, Natural England and the Lowther Estate. The funding for the scheme has been secured from the Endangered Landscapes Programme.