An exciting Lake District National Park project has been awarded a £250,000 grant from the Government’s £40 million second round of the Green Recovery Challenge Fund, a multi-million pound boost for green jobs and nature recovery. The Lake District Centre for Nature Conservation and Connection is a new partnership between The Lake District National Park Authority and The Ernest Cook Trust. The project has three main strands:

• The conservation, restoration and interpretation of eight priority habitats at Brockhole, the Lake District Visitor Centre.
• The development of a fully resourced, accessible and versatile engagement programme for young people from urban backgrounds to connect with nature on the site.
• And a training programme that will upskill young people in habitat restoration/conservation skills, providing valuable work experience, skills and importantly accreditation for jobs in the environmental sector.

Sam Mason of the Lake District National Park Authority commented: “We are delighted to have secured this funding and look forward to working with The Ernest Cook Trust over the next 18 months to deliver this exciting new programme at Brockhole. “Connection with nature is known to be good for our health and well-being.

This funding will enable us to accelerate our learning and engagement programme, giving urban-based young people the opportunity to visit Brockhole in the National Park. Through an increased connection with and understanding of the natural world, we hope that they will want to play an active part in protecting it. We aim to work directly with 3,000 young people (under 26yrs) over 15 months.”

The Ernest Cook Trust is rooted in the conservation and management of the countryside and will lead on this training programme, giving twelve young people a life changing opportunity to learn from the land and support the habitat improvement work at Brockhole. Dr Victoria Edwards OBE, Chief Executive, The Ernest Cook Trust, said:
“We’re delighted that this funding has been awarded and are looking forward to working with the Lake District National Park Authority on this project, which fits perfectly with our mission of providing land-based learning opportunities for young people.”

A full list of awards is available to view here: https://www.heritagefund.org.uk/publications/green-recovery-challenge-fund-second-round-decisions-july-2021
The national announcement is available to view: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/multi-million-pound-boost-for-green-jobs-and-nature-recovery