2017-24 Meetings

The page contains a record of our meetings over the last few years.

12 October 2017

Endangered or Vulnerable – lessons from snow leopard research in Kazakhstan

Dr Ian Convery and Dr Volker Deeker (University of Cumbria)

Snow leopards have recently been downlisted from endangered to vulnerable status. Illegal killing has decreased in many area, but declines in prey abundance and climate change continue to pose threats. Using camera trap data combined with environmental modelling a team of University of Cumbria researchers set out to investigate the state of a snow leopard population in Kazakhstan’s Ile Alatau mountains.

9 November 2017

Arctic charr:  the Cumbrian ecology and status of an Ice Age relict

Dr Ian Winfield (Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Natural Environment Research Council)

The Arctic charr was one of the first fish species to colonise what was to become the UK after the last glaciation.  Having now been with us for c. 10,000 years and being of recognised biodiversity and fisheries importance, its Cumbrian populations nevertheless face a range of environmental threats.  This presentation will describe the local ecology of this remarkable fish and discuss its future conservation.

14 December 2017

Architecture in the Lakes through the centuries

Andy Lowe (former Buildings Conservation Officer, LDNPA)

Andy Lowe will look at the detailed design of buildings from medieval times to the twentieth century and how they contribute to making the Lake District such a special place.

25 January 2018

Jacobs Join supper and Annual General Meeting followed by showing of members’ best natural history photographs taken during 2017 (no more than six each, brought on a memory stick).

Ambleside Parish Centre, St Mary’s Church, Ambleside LA22 9DH

This meeting begins at 7:00pm. Note also the change of location.

8 February 2018

Marine mammals and tidal turbines: what are the issues of concern and how are they being resolved?

Professor Ben Wilson (Scottish Association of Marine Science).

Renewables offer a solution to many of the UK’s energy problems. Among the more attractive options is to harness the predictable energy contained in the tides. Accordingly tidal turbines, a submarine equivalent to wind turbines, have been developed and tested to the point of being deployable in coastal seas in their tens or even hundreds. Putting new technologies into the environment always brings the risk of unintended harmful environmental impacts. In this illustrated presentation Prof. Ben Wilson will introduce the potential interactions that might occur between tidal turbines and marine mammals (seals, whales, dolphins and porpoises), describe the research that his team have been doing to address the concerns as well as other efforts going on in the UK and further afield. He will also describe some of the interesting insights into marine mammal behaviour that have resulted from research in the high energy sites of interest to renewable energy developers. The talk will be illustrated with pictures and sounds.

8 March 2018

Using drones for monitoring biodiversity & mapping the environment

Dr Paul Scholefield (Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Lancaster)

Dr Scholefield will talk about the wealth of information obtainable about habitats using sensors on drones. This helps us understand how landscapes change over time and how they are affected by people.

12 April 2018

Images From a Warming Planet

Ashley Cooper (photographer)

Ashley Cooper has spent the last thirteen years travelling to every continent on the planet to document the causes and impacts of climate change and the rise of renewable energy, the only photographer to have done so. This epic journey around the planet has taken him to over 30 countries, from close to the North Pole to the Antarctic, from 18,000 feet in the Bolivian Andes to sinking coral atoll islands in the South Pacific. His new book “Images From a Warming Planet” contains 500 of the best images from the project and has come out to critical acclaim, Jonathon Porritt called the book “An extraordinary collection of images and a powerful call to action”. Ashley is an award winning photo journalist whose work is used in newspapers, magazines and books all around the world.

17 May 2018

Evening visit to the National Trust Nature Reserve at Sandscale Haws to explore the unique dune habitats and to observe the colony of natterjack toads.

Because the toads only start calling after sunset, we will leave Ambleside in the late afternoon, have a 1-2h walk followed by a beachside picnic followed by a visit to the breeding ponds at dusk. Bring a water bottle, waterproof, walking boots (or comfortable wellies) and appropriate clothing. For the picnic, please also bring some finger food to share.

We will be meeting in the lower car park on the Ambleside campus at 16:00hrs. Alternatively you can meet us at the car park at Sandscale Haws, LA14 4QJ, at 17:00hrs.

A small number of members greatly enjoyed this visit on a glorious evening with superb views of the distant Lakeland fells. After a shared picnic supper we were lucky enough to hear from a lone natterjack toad. Photos taken during this visit can be viewed at https://photos.app.goo.gl/9CL4ikJCmv3eZ95W7

 

11 October 2018

This lecture is supported by the Ambleside Natural History Society, the Ambleside Conservation Society (our student society), the University of Cumbria and a bequest by Jean and Morison Harding.

Living with Elephants

Lizzie Daly (Wildlife biologist and BBC presenter)

8 November 2018

A Tourist Guide to the Universe

Stuart Atkinson (Secretary, Eddington Astronomical Society, Kendal)

A tour of the fascinating worlds of our solar system and beyond, to other stars and galaxies to appreciate our place in the universe, using the very latest photos from space probes and telescopes, computer animations and imagery.

6 December 2018

Wild Ennerdale: into the Future Natural

Tom Burditt (General Manager, National Trust, North Lakes)

Wild Ennerdale is widely considered to be one of the premier “wild land” partnerships in England. We are now into our 16^th year towards delivering our ambition of “Ennerdale as a wild valley for the benefit of people, relying more on natural processes to shape its landscape and ecology”.  This talk will look back at why the Wild Ennerdale partnership was formed, how we work, and what some of our achievements have been to date. I will discuss the real world challenges and issues we face, and look forward to what our ambitions and aspirations are for the future.

24 January 2019

Jacobs Join supper and Annual General Meeting followed by showing of members’ best natural history photographs taken during 2018 (no more than six each, brought on a memory stick).

Ambleside Parish Centre, St Mary’s Church, Ambleside LA22 9DH

This meeting begins at 7:00pm. Note also the change of location.

14 February 2019

Working with pine martens

John W Martin (Myotismart Ltd., Wildlife Surveyors)

The talk will describe the species and history to date in the U.K.  It will include the work he has been involved with annually in the Galloway Forest since 2003.  The population recovery generally and specifically in Cumbria will be covered.

14 March 2019 – Meeting cancelled

Changing land management for public payment for public goods

Andrew Herbert (Lake District National Park)

What could “Public payments for public goods” from land management mean for the Lake District and Cumbria? It is one of the key principles in the UK Government’s new policies for land management and the environment. Andrew will describe what people in the Lake District and Cumbria are doing to understand what this could mean and how we are taking forward local action in Cumbria and contributing to national policy development.

11 April 2019

Swifts – the Magic, the Mystery and the Tragedy

Peter Moreton (Project Coordinator for Swifts in the Community)

Swifts engender enthusiasm and imagination like few other birds. This is a talk about how remarkable swifts are, how much we are only just understanding about them and how much we still don’t know. It is also about the plight of swifts, with numbers falling dramatically in recent years,  and how much we can do to ensure they continue to grace our skies.

12 May 2019 (Sunday)

Visit to Foulshaw Moss Nature Reserve

Foulshaw Moss is an excellent example of a raised lowland peat bog with unique flora and fauna managed by the Cumbria Wildlife Trust. It is about 20 miles from Ambleside on the left-hand side of the A590 going south just past the Levens turn-off.Information about the reserve can be found at

https://www.cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk/nature-reserves/foulshaw-moss

About a dozen members had a splendid visit with a Jacob’s Join picnic lunch. The Moss has improved enormously in recent years as it slowly returns to its natural state and a wide variety of wildlife is visible.

Highlights of our visit included a sedge warbler singing to us on the raised platform, one of the nesting osprey flying circling overhead and an adder found under almost the last shelter we uncovered. 

Some photos taken during our visit can be found at Foulshaw photos

Photo credits: JB, Jack Ball and RJA, Rebecca Julianne Ashmore.

 

10 October 2019

Back on our Map: Species Restoration in South Cumbria

Jo Sayers (University of Cumbria)

ANHS is joining with the University of Cumbria for a presentation evening, at the start of the new BOOM Project led by the University.
Back on Our Map (BOOM) has a new team in place and will be working to restore species to the distinctive lowland fells and coast of south Cumbria. We will work to engage communities in partnership with landowners in practical species re-introductions, reinforcements and habitat improvements. Working across 5000 hectares, project partners Morecambe Bay Partnership, the Forestry Commission, Natural England and Cumbria Wildlife Trust, we will focus on 12 species of plants, mammals, birds and invertebrates.
Come and meet the team and talk to us about how you might like to get involved, refreshments provided.

This evening is free to members and visitors.

14 November 2019

South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project

Philip Monro

The South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project aims to reinforce the small, isolated and vulnerable population of Golden Eagles in the Scottish Borders and Dumfries & Galloway. Through a series of translocations over a period of 5 years, we will look to increase numbers and prevent the loss of this majestic bird from Southern Skies.

12 December 2019

Morecambe Bay – an underwater safari

Gordon Fletcher (Diver and photographer)

It is easy to think the waters of Morecambe Bay are just cold, muddy and almost lifeless when it is in fact a rich and dynamic environment fed and driven by some of the highest tidal ranges around the UK and home to a multitude of often colourful marine creatures. This talk uses underwater photos taken in the Bay with first-hand experience to give an insight into the variety and lifestyles of many of these creatures.

23 January 2020

Jacobs Join supper and Annual General Meeting followed by showing of members’ best natural history photographs taken during 2019 (no more than ten each, brought on a memory stick).

Ambleside Parish Centre, St Mary’s Church, Ambleside LA22 9DH

This meeting begins at 7:00pm. Note also the change of location.

13 February 2020

Land management in an iconic upland landscape

Pete Barron (John Muir Trust)

John Muir Trust, through its commitment to protect and enhance wild land, has taken a lease for the management of Glenridding Common (Helvellyn) and aims to add value to previous management of the site through footpath maintenance, enhancement of the arctic-alpine flora and juniper woodland and other special qualities with opportunities for volunteers and education through the John Muir Award

12 March 2020

The return of beavers to Cumbria

Heather Devey (Beaver Project Officer, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Haweswater)

Eurasian beavers will be returning to Cumbria, with approval of the enclosed release of beavers onto the Lowther Estate near Penrith. Evidence from trials elsewhere in the UK show that they offer great benefits, including flood risk alleviation, improved water quality, habitat creation for other wildlife and increased revenue for the local economy through nature-based tourism. This is the first trial in an upland area in the UK.

There will be an opportunity to ask questions about beavers and the Cumbria reintroduction project after the talk.

12 November 2020

Saving our Night Skies 

Jack Ellerby (project Officer, Dark Skies Cumbria)

Join Jack Ellerby for an online presentation to learn about the value of Dark Skies and the growing issues from the impacts of light pollution on wildlife and people. Hear about relevant research, good and bad lighting, what the Project’s doing and find out how we can all help to tackle light pollution.

10 December 2021

Community, Landscape and Biodiversity – the story of Rusland Horizons

Colin Barr (Rusland Horizons Trust)

This illustrated talk will tell the story of how the Rusland community secured Lottery funding to enhance and understand the local landscape through partnership working and volunteer action on 15 different projects.

The outcomes of these projects will be described with a special emphasis on those involving the wildlife of the Rusland valley.

14 January 2021

Restoring Hardknott Forest

John Hodgson 

Restoring Hardknott Forest is an exciting project to restore one of the largest conifer plantations in the Lake District’s Duddon Valley to native woodland. Non-native trees are gradually being removed and replaced with native species such as oak. Project Officer John Hodgson will give an overview of the work completed so far and the plans for the future. 

11 February 2021

Out of Africa……..a Photographer’s Safari

Alan and Julie Walker

This talk is packed full of photographs about the trials and tribulations of trying to capture something a little bit different from the stunning wildlife and landscape in Namibia, Botswana and Kenya.

11 March 2021

The North West Rare Plant Initiative

Joshua Styles

The North West Rare Plant Initiative has thus far carried out 49 reintroduction projects across the region of NW England and including 20 different species, many of which are on the cusp of extinction in the region.

The NWRPI won the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management 2020 Award for Best Practice: Small-scale Nature Conservation.

8 April 2021

Fantastic moths of Lakeland and where to find them

Guy Broome

The talk will cover unusual and spectacular moths from specific Lakeland habitat types. It will provide information on larval food plants and how to give moths a home in your garden or local patch. An introduction to the basics of moth trapping in gardens or at remote sites is included, too.

14 October 2021

Our Living Irish Sea

Beth Churn and Harry Cale (The North West Wildlife Trusts)

 The talk will give an overview of what we mean by ‘living seas’ and what the North West Wildlife Trusts are currently doing to achieve this status for the Irish Sea. We will be explaining why various anthropogenic pressures in the Irish Sea  make it so difficult for marine life to thrive, and what we can all do to help aid the recovery of the marine environment.
We will also be looking into the importance of some of our favourite Irish Sea residents and habitats, including the grey  seal colony at South-Walney Nature Reserve, mud dwelling creatures like sea-pens and langoustine, seagrass meadows, and saltmarshes.

11 November 2021

Peatland restoration in Cumbria 

David Harpley (Conservation Manager, Cumbria Wildlife Trust)

The importance of peatland in capture and storage of carbon from the atmosphere is widely recognised. David will discuss the ecology of bogs, why they are in the state they are now, why we ought to do something about it, the issues and conflicts around their management, what we do to restore bogs and where we go from here.

9 December 2021

Bats with Altitude

Rich Flight (South Cumbria Bat Group)

Discover how the South Cumbria Bat Group used remote monitoring devices to find out if UK bats could inhabit the harsh mountainous regions of the county.

27 January 2022

AGM

Jacob’s Join supper with opportunity for members to show their best natural history slides from the last year.

10 March 2022

The Freshwater Pearl Mussel Project

Louise Lavictoire (Freshwater Biological Association)

14 April 2022

Working for Water – Windermere reedbeds & Elterwater

Kath Smith (South Cumbria Rivers Trust)

A presentation that introduces some of the work of South Cumbria Rivers Trust around the Windermere catchment. We’ll look at the importance of reedbeds, touch on declining water quality, and explore briefly the work at Elterwater to restore natural processes.

Saturday 17 July 10:00-13:00hrs

BooM Plant Propagation Day

Join the Back on our Map Species Restoration Team for a morning of helping with the propagation of endangered pants as well as larval food plants for endangered butterflies. We will meet on the University of Cumbria’s Ambleside campus and work at outdoor tables maintaining social distancing. Feel free to join us for the entire time or just come for an hour or so. 

Wednesday 28 July 20:30-21:30hrs –

Ambleside Bat Walk

Led by Volker Deecke, join us for a walk through Ambleside and along the River Rothay to look for local hotspots of bat activity. It’s an opportunity to use an acoustic bat detector (bring your own if you have one) and practice identifying common species from their ultrasonic echolocation calls. 

13 October 2023

Ajay Tegala

Life of a Ranger

Wildlife presenter, naturalist and countryside ranger, Ajay Tegala, has worked in nature conservation for over a decade. From volunteering as a teenager to managing rare seabird colonies, England’s largest seal rookery plus an ambitious rewilding and habitat-restoration project. Along the way, Ajay has worked on and off screen for the BBC, including Springwatch, and has recently written his first book, The Unique Life of a Ranger. He will share some of his wild experiences and offer an insight into how he has followed his dreams, doing his best to safeguard nature throughout changing and uncertain times by engaging people with their local wildlife.

10 November 2022

Conserving our red squirrels

Stewart Sutcliffe (Grasmere Red Squirrel Group)

The talk will cover the Red Squirrel’s anatomy, life cycle, behaviour and threats; the conservation work in Cumbria and experiences of our Red Squirrel Group in Grasmere.

8 December 2022

Wild Fell: Fighting for Nature on a Lake District Hill Farm

Lee Schofield (RSPB Site Manager Haweswater)

Lee will talk about the work currently being done to restore the environment of two farms in the Haweswater valley including its joys and challenges. His recent book was Highly Commended in the James Cropper Wainwright Prize for Conservation. 

9 February 2023

How Cumbria Butterfly Conservation is trying to save its rare butterflies

Chris Winnick (Cumbria Butterfly Conservation)

South Cumbria is home to several of the rarest butterflies in the UK, including the two rarest: the High Brown Fritillary and the Pearl-bordered Fritillary. With further major changes in land-management and climate change we must face the possibility that several species may go extinct. Can they [or even should they] be saved?

9 March 2023

Woodland Management in the South Lakes

Richard Tanner (National Trust)

The National Trust cares for 1100ha of woodland in the South Lakes and over 1000 veteran and important landscape trees.  Richard’s  talk will explore some of management decisions and issues facing the Trust ranging from the impact of disease to climate change and the recent winter storms

20 April 2023

Restoring pine martens in south Cumbria

Mic Mayhew (University of Cumbria – BOOM Project Officer)

Following three years of feasibility studies, the South Cumbria Pine Marten Recovery Project was developed in 2022 to reinforce Cumbrian populations as part of a coordinated national effort to restore the species. The project is led by the University of Cumbria in partnership with conservation NGOs and local landowners and aims to translocate pine martens under licence from donor sites in the Scottish Highlands to expand the regional metapopulation and support wider forest ecosystems.

12 October 2023

Re-introducing water voles to the Lowther Valley

David Greaves (Eden Rivers Trust)

The Lowther Water Vole Project is funded by the Environment Agency’s Water Environment Improvement Fund-funded and in summer 2023 carried out the first phase of the reintroduction of water vole to the Lowther Valley, part of the Lake District National Park. Find out about the plight of the water vole in the UK and how Eden Rivers Trust are working with partners, volunteers and landowners to create and improve habitat and restore the species.

9 November 2023

Sustainable farming in the Lake District: A Wilderculture Approach

Sam Beaumont (Gowbarrow Hall Farm)

Sam will talk about our journey over the past 6 years from intensive sheep farming to organic, pasture for life beef, heather moorland, wood pasture and species rich grassland restoration.

14 December 2023

Protected areas and community-based conservation in the Brazilian Amazon

Joseph Hawes (University of Cumbria)

It is often a challenge to deliver both effective biodiversity conservation and improvements to the social well-being of local people. I will explore examples from the western Brazilian Amazon that showcase the roles of sustainable-use reserves and community-based conservation initiatives.

25 January 2023

Jacob’s Join supper plus the AGM.

Ambleside Parish Centre

• Jacob’s Join supper (please bring finger food to share)
• Report of activities and the accounts for 2023
• Short presentation by Tim Boden on his citizen’s science project to measure phosphorous levels in Windermere over summer 2023
• opportunity for members to present slides (maximum 10) of their best wildlife photos taken in 2023

8 February 2024

To record or not to record, that is the question. Exploring wildlife recording in Cumbria.

Rebecca Slack (Cumbria Biodiversity Data Centre)

Recording wildlife is a simple and very rewarding activity in itself but can also contribute to understanding the bigger picture of what is happening in the natural world. It provides information needed to inform nature recovery, planning and development, biodiversity research and so much more. With a steadily growing number of apps and identification guides, wildlife recording is becoming much more accessible for everyone but can also be confusing: what observations should be recorded? What should be used to record them? Who should the records be sent to? This talk will look at wildlife recording, consider why it is useful and what it contributes, and consider some of the different approaches for recording, including a look at the two most popular apps – iRecord and iNaturalist. There will be an opportunity to find out about emerging initiatives for Cumbria and to feed into new ideas to improve the recording of species, habitats and sites.

14 March 2024

Bees, Meadows and Verges; Enjoying Meadows and Verges in Flower Out & About Near Ambleside

Julia Pigott (Bee Ed, Brigsteer Bee Reserve)

Julia will talk about bees and bee behaviour and how flowers compete for their attention and loyalty as pollinators.

Perfect bee habitat is rare but still to be found in our semi-natural flower rich grasslands; hay meadows, ancient pasture and roadside verges.  The link is the profusion of native wild flowers that our bees co-evolved with.   We might just think of bumblebees gently buzzing between flowers and sipping nectar, but competition amongst flowers is fierce as they seek to attract pollinators. It’s the survival of the fittest. Think of flowers as vendors competing furiously to attract Bees as purchasers. Julia will describe some of the battles that play out in our flower rich grasslands.

11 April 2024

Trine Bregstein and Emma Kelly (Freshwater Biological Association) 

The Big Windermere Survey and the Riverfly Partnership: the use of citizen science in freshwater conservation

The Big Windermere Survey and the Riverfly Partnership: the use of citizen science in freshwater conservation. Join Emma Kelly and Trine Bregstein from the Freshwater Biological Association for a talk about two citizen science schemes, their history, how volunteers are contributing, how the data is used and how you can get involved.

4 May 2024

Skelghyll Wood Nature Trail

On a damp Saturday morning in early May around a dozen ANHS members walked the route of the 1966 Skelghyll Wood Nature Trail, designed by Ambleside Field Society. We saw lots of bluebells and ramsons; heard cuckoos and a variety of warblers; found a charcoal burning platform and toothwort (the subject of one of Harold Auty’s lovely woodcuts in the original leaflet) and looked at lichens such as Gyalecta jenensis in the old limestone quarry. In general, there are more, bigger trees than in the 1960s, and fewer wildflowers to be seen. Many of the more exotic trees have gone, however. There’s a lot more beech and holly. An interesting time was had by all: we’ll do more local walks in the future.

16 June 2024

Moth trapping at Holehird Gardens

Several moth traps were set in different parts of the garden the night before and we checked them together in the morning with the help of moth expert Guy Broom who helped us identify the different moths we had caught.

Images of moths we observed can be found at this link.

Thanks to Steven Mees and the Lakeland Horticultural Society for letting us use the Holehird site