*This event is now fully booked - thanks for your interest*

About Leader's landscape training:

Landscape is our support system without which we could not exist.

Everyone depends on landscape for food, water, fuel and clean air.

A beautiful and diverse landscape with a wealth of wildlife and human history inspires and enriches our lives and provides a ‘natural health service’ for mind and body. But our fragile landscapes are under threat as never before, not least from climate change, and our challenge is to understand, support and enhance them.

Leader’s Landscape Training is aimed at outdoor practitioners to help deepen your understanding of Cumbria’s landscapes and enable you to pass on your new-found knowledge to those with whom you work.

Workshop detail:

Hardknott Forest is a 630 hectare conifer plantation in the upper reaches of the Duddon valley. Originally planted in the 1930’s, the plantation is reaching maturity and felling is now taking place.

After consultation with local people and organisations, Forestry England have decided to restore the entire plantation to native habitats of oak and birch woodland, bogs, heather and grassland. This initiative represents a historic opportunity to create the largest semi-natural woodland in the Lake District; linking Hardknott Forest with the existing Duddon Valley Woodlands, a series of ancient oak woodlands that snake down the valley and all the way to the coast.

We are gradually removing areas of non-native trees, which allows native trees such as oak, birch and willow to naturally regenerate.

The new native woodland will benefit a range of local wildlife. The area supports rare species such as dormice, otters, adders and wood ants. Birds increasingly seen here include green and great spotted woodpeckers, jays and bullfinches. Monitoring of the wildlife and vegetation is an ongoing and fascinating part of the project.

Activity grade: Moderate.

Meeting point:

Birks Bridge Car Park Grid Reference SD234995 on the minor road between Cockley Beck and Seathwaite.

What to bring:

A picnic lunch & clothing/footwear for all weathers.  (Please note there is no indoor backup venue so the sessions will go ahead in poor weather unless unreasonable or unsafe to do so)

Workshop trainer:

This workshop is organised by Friends of the Lake District.

Trainer: John Hodgson, Restoring Hardknott Forest Project Officer j.h.hodgson@leeds.ac.uk

Start

21/10/2020 10:00

End

21/10/2020 15:00

Total Days

1

Maximum Bookings

10

Bookings

8

Venue

Armboth, Thirlmere

Town

Armboth

County

Cumbria

Country

England

Latitude

54.58027

Longitude

-2.90135

Name

Mountain Training Association

Phone

01539 720788

Email