An exciting new Wildlife Watch group has been launched to encourage Eden Valley’s young wildlife enthusiasts. Eden Dippers Watch Group is aiming to encourage the next generation of conservationists, aged between 7 and 12 years, to access the natural world and explore what wildlife lurks on their doorstep. The first session held earlier this month attracted 11 children, who all had fun using their sense of touch, smell and hearing to learn more about the wildlife around them.

Cumbria Wildlife Trust has been awarded funding that will ensure an exhibition on Cumbria’s wild flowers in collaboration with Tullie House Museum will go ahead at Tullie House next May to July. The donation has been awarded by the John Spedan Lewis Foundation.

Hay meadows restored in 2008 burst into colour this June, confirming that Hay-Day's 2008 restoration work is a success. Hay-Day, Cumbria's hay meadow project run by Cumbria FWAG and Cumbria Wildlife Trust, has now taken this experience of using seed from existing wild flower meadows and embarked on further restoration work. It is working with contractors, farmers and Natural England Project Officers in Ravenstonedale, Orton, Little Asby, Keswick and the Newlands Valley. In total, seed has been introduced to a further 10 meadows, which amounts to just over 20 ha.

The sunny conditions of the last week (3-10 August) have encouraged a profusion of the rare Scotch argus butterflies to take to the air.

The public is invited to an open day on the future of the Witherslack Mosses on Friday 21 August at the Gilpin Bridge Inn, Levens. Cumbria Wildlife Trust and Natural England are keen for local residents to come along from 11.00am to 7.30pm so that they can share their thoughts with these residents on the future of the Witherslack Mosses, some of England’s best remaining raised bogs.

Twenty-five pairs of water voles are breeding in specially built pens for the first time in Cumbria.

Center Parcs was the first organisation to be awarded The Wildlife Trust’s Biodiversity Benchmark for all its sites.  Following a rigorous audit at Center Parcs Whinfell Forest in Cumbria, the Biodiversity Benchmark was presented to Center Parcs in recognition for its continual efforts to protect and enhance the natural environment at its four holiday villages across the UK.

Now is the perfect time to see the chicks of a variety of species at the Cumbria Wildlife Trusts' South Walney Nature Reserve. After a late start, gull chicks are now outnumbering clutches of eggs and young birds are easy to see on the reserve's trails and from the many viewing hides. Numbers look to be slightly down on previous years, with a mere eleven thousand pairs nesting in 2009!