A new, purpose-built laboratory will serve as a base for scientists, universities and students to investigate Cumbria’s upland landscapes, and how they respond to nature recovery.
It is hoped the research facility at RSPB Wild Haweswater, in Penrith, will become a hub for upland science, bringing researchers and conservationists together to carry out fieldwork, share expertise, and develop new collaborations.
The lab was funded by the estate of the late ornithologist Denis Summers-Smith.
“We want to build on Denis’s commitment to field ecology and conservation research, creating a lasting legacy that will benefit both science and nature recovery in Cumbria and beyond,” said RSPB’s Will Peach.
The new lab will support current research through Cumbria Connect, whose work and scientific monitoring spans Wild Haweswater, the Lowther estate and the Lowther Valley.
Dr Mo Verhoeven, conservation scientist at Cumbria Connect, explained how the region’s landscape is made up of a number of distinctive environments, including peatlands and rainforest, which play a key role in storing carbon and managing water.
“Cumbria’s uplands are incredibly important for nature recovery,” he said.
“We hope this laboratory will give researchers, students and conservationists a place to work together and build the evidence needed to guide restoration, both here in Cumbria and in upland landscapes further afield.
“It’s about making Cumbria a much stronger base for upland science.”
“Just as importantly, it will help train the next generation of environmental scientists,” he said.
Cumbria Connect is part of a scheme paid for by the Arcadia Fund which was co-founded by one of the heirs to the Tetra Pak fortune.
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