By Katharine Milnes, East of Eden Nature Recovery Project Senior Advisor
A Landscape of Contrasts
Venture east of the M6, away from Cumbria's famous Lake District mountains, and you'll discover Cumbria's own Eden. Here, the wide, fertile valley of the River Eden stretches eastwards to meet the western slopes of the North Pennines, climbing into the open moorlands often described as 'England's last wilderness'.
For 25 years, I've been fortunate to work in this unique landscape, advising on wildlife management. The fells support a rich mosaic of upland habitats – extensive blanket bog and heathlands on the moorland plateau, with areas of species-rich grassland at the fell edges.
The moorland and adjacent fields provide crucial refuges for breeding birds like curlew and black grouse, which have suffered severe declines elsewhere in England, and populations of rare mountain plants occur within high-altitude grasslands and flushes. Springs and becks feed three great rivers: the Eden, the Tyne, and the Tees.
However, like much of the UK, this area has suffered significant habitat loss and fragmentation.
Centuries of tree clearance have left only small pockets of once-extensive woodland, giving the landscape some of the lowest tree cover in England. Within the fertile Eden valley lowlands, semi-natural habitats occur in scattered patches, and nutrient enrichment affects water quality within the river.
The Birth of the East of Eden Project
From my experience working in the Pennines, I know that the greatest conservation successes come through effective collaboration between land managers and environmental organisations. Therefore, when Defra and Natural England sought twelve locations for multi-partner Nature Recovery Projects across England, this landscape presented an ideal opportunity to expand and connect existing successful initiatives.
Launched in 2023, the East of Eden Nature Recovery Project is guided by a Steering Group including partners from both conservation and farming sectors. Together, we aim to create a network of nature-rich habitats where wildlife thrives alongside the people who live and work here, while helping communities from all backgrounds connect with nature.
Early Achievements
In this landscape, ensuring that farming and wildlife flourish together is essential to achieving our vision. With agricultural support mechanisms changing, access to good advice is crucial.
We've worked with the Farmer Network and a local farmer cluster to understand current management practices and barriers to enhancing wildlife. The Farmer Network has run East of Eden training events about diversifying grassland, tree planting, hedge laying and environmental schemes, supported by funding from the North Pennines Farming in Protected Landscapes scheme.
We've established a liaison group for advisors from different organisations, ensuring they can share knowledge and signpost land managers to the best advice sources. Connections formed through this group have created exciting new opportunities, such as developing links between a Community Hub in Appleby-in- Westmorland and a local farm wanting to provide opportunities for people with disabilities to visit.
At RSPB's Geltsdale reserve in the north of the project area, we've supported the development of a tree nursery where staff collaborate with volunteers to collect seed from trees on the reserve and grow them to provide local, native stock for future planting. We've also funded GPS-collars for cattle, enabling 'virtual fencing' in an area being restored to wood pasture, so grazing can be controlled to help trees establish amongst a mosaic of heath and grassland.
With Eden Rivers Trust and citizen-scientists, we've improved our knowledge of streams and rivers within the Eden's catchment. Surveyors use methods developed by the Freshwater Biological Association and contribute to a national database while identifying areas where wildlife habitat could be enhanced.
Looking Forward
This year, we will be continuing our ‘Planting for Pollinators’ projects with Cumbria Wildlife Trust, working with local communities and farmers to identify areas where more wildflowers could help develop connected networks of flower-rich grassland. The season has begun with a 'bee-walk' to help people identify and record bees, improving our knowledge of their numbers and distribution.
Project partners from the North Pennines National Landscape, Woodland Trust and RSPB have been testing how innovative technologies like UV and satellite imagery can help find suitable tree-planting locations without affecting important areas for breeding waders. The mapping results are being assessed in the field and stimulating discussions with landowners to develop funding proposals.
Working with Cambridge University researchers, we launched the 'East of Eden Perspectives survey' to understand what different people think about wildlife and land management issues. In June we ran workshops to discuss the results, which will help to shape our future work.
We'll also bring together farm advisors to identify how we can work most effectively to enter more land into schemes that are ambitious for nature while supporting viable farm businesses. Where clusters of farms wish to work together, we’ll investigate the potential for developing Landscape Recovery Schemes under the highest tier of the agri-environment offer.
Through this collaborative approach, the East of Eden Nature Recovery Project aims to create a landscape where nature and people thrive together for generations to come.
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