Martin Varley

Programme Manager at Cumbria Connect @Cumbria Connect

Penrith, GB

Leading a team of 10 delivering an ambitious landscape-scale nature restoration programme funded by the Endangered Landscapes Programme. The partnership programme comprises five main partners - RSPB, Lowther Estates, United Utilities, Orton Farm Cluster and Natural England as well as delivery partners – Woodland Trust, Cumbria Wildlife Trust, Ernest Cook Trust, Eden Rivers Trust and Lune Rivers Trust. The objectives and outcomes of Cumbria Connect are to: • Restore nature to hectares of upland landscape in the north-eastern corner of Cumbria by applying the Lawton Principles and creating a better-connected network of quality wildlife sites • Promote the socio-economic importance of nature restoration to the local community • Enable knowledge transfer to inform further landscape-scale restoration programmes and ensure a legacy beyond the programme. The programme aims to meet its objectives through direct conservation interventions, to include woodland management, peatland restoration, sustainable deer management, regenerative farming practices on core-sites and species translocations; knowledge exchange with a focus on nature-friendly and regenerative farming; evidence building through science-based research and monitoring; and community and stakeholder engagement.