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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.<\/b><\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The lab was funded by the estate of the late ornithologist Denis Summers-Smith.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“Cumbria’s uplands are incredibly important for nature recovery,” he said.<\/p>\n
“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. <\/p>\n
“It’s about making Cumbria a much stronger base for upland science.”<\/p>\n
“Just as importantly, it will help train the next generation of environmental scientists,” he said.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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