Resilient Glenderamackin: achieving nature-based solutions at catchment scale through innovative funding

Celebrating The Rivers Trust partnership with West Cumbria Rivers Trust and Nature Finance on one of the country’s largest catchment-based projects, unlocking innovative funding through the pioneering platform Projects for Nature and Lloyds Banking Group.

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Matthew Woodard

18/03/24

Covering approximately 142 square Kilometers, the River Glenderamackin catchment sits within the Lake District National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

This rugged landscape is home to the thriving community of Keswick, which is now facing increasing environmental, social and economic pressures due to climate change and historic land use policy.

Fieldside Wetland, Glenderamackin, photo courtesy of West Cumbria Rivers Trust

Between 2018 and 2022, West Cumbria Rivers Trust worked across the catchment in partnership with over 40 farmers to implement Natural Flood Management and habitat enhancement, such as by creating ponds, wetlands and re-connecting rivers to their floodplains. These measures have helped tackle challenges, including increased flooding, poor water quality, degrading habitats, peatland erosion and vulnerability due to drought.

Row End, Glenderamackin Before/After Natural Flood Management measure, photo courtesy of West Cumbria Rivers Trust

The success of these measures has demonstrated the effectiveness of Natural Flood Management but to meaningfully contribute to flood risk reduction and create a Resilient Glenderamackin Catchment, measures now need to be delivered at scale, whilst developing a way to pay farmers and landowners to look after interventions for the long term.

The project will include re-wiggling rivers, planting trees and restoring wetlands and aims to:

Re-naturalise 4km of river
Improve the condition of soils and grasslands
Create 185 hectares of new woodland and 185 hectares of scrub land
Restore 45 hectares of ponds and wetlands,
Plant 6.3km of bunded floodplain hedges and 7km of ‘normal’ hedges
Restore 30 hectares of peatland.

To achieve these ambitious goals, West Cumbria Rivers Trust in partnership with The Rivers Trust and Nature Finance have developed an innovative financial model that links buyers, and sellers of ecosystems services. A blend of public and private finance will allow farmers to be appropriately financed to host and maintain nature-based solutions on their land for 20+ years, that supports upland farming and ensures their sustainability into the future.

Private finance is essential to the success of Resilient Glenderamackin and the project is one of a diverse portfolio of 25 projects on Projects for Nature a pioneering platform, accelerating corporate donations into nature recovery by connecting businesses, and other donors, with screened nature recovery projects.

Launched at COP28 by the Secretary of State to align with the government’s Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP), the Projects for Nature initiative established a pioneering partnership with the Council for Sustainable Business, Crowdfunder, and Accenture—bringing together government, expert bodies, NGOs, businesses, and the public to fund nature.

This week, The Rivers Trust are pleased to share the announcement that Resilient Glenderamackin is one of the three projects across England, chosen by Lloyds Banking Group, Project for Nature’s first Founding Business Partner to invest £250,000 to support local nature recovery. Delivering landscape scale outcomes, these projects provide more space for nature to thrive—and do so with local community engagement at their heart.

This funding will be used to employ a Business Engagement Manager to build partnerships with local and national businesses. This role will allow the project team to understand business drivers and highlight opportunities to help co-fund the delivery of the Resilient Glenderamackin project.

Everyone can take part in helping nature thrive, through the Projects for Nature platform, whether you’re a business or individual looking to donate, or a project that needs to raise funds.

If you would like to read more about Resilient Glenderamackin, visit our project page on the Projects for Nature website and learn how you can help tackle environmental challenges in this area of North Cumbria.

You can also learn more about the Resilient Glenderamackin project and its achievements to date on the West Cumbria Rivers Trust website.