Catriona Glendinning, Tree Sparrow Project Officer, said: “North Cumbria is a hot spot area for breeding tree sparrows so when Mike Borgia of Glenmore Opportunities at Heathlands Farm phoned to say that their members were keen to help and learn about the birds by putting up nest boxes and monitoring them, I was delighted.”

Heathlands Farm joins another 30 farms already part of the Tree Sparrow Project, which stretches from Mawbray on the west coast to Appleby-in-Westmorland in the Eden Valley. Tree sparrows are listed in the Cumbria Biodiversity Action Plan as they are declining. They need plenty of help from both farmers and ourselves to make sure they have the ‘big three’: winter food, summer food and nesting sites. The primary aim of the project is to increase the number of tree sparrows and to expand their range, as well as that of other declining farmland birds. This is done by providing landowners with advice, nest boxes and by ensuring that existing agri-environment schemes are delivering year-round favourable conditions and nest boxes.  Thanks to the support of local farmers and a team of 28 enthusiastic volunteers, there are now 628 nest boxes put up so far on farms in north Cumbria.

Glenmore Opportunities is an education and activity centre for adults with learning difficulties based at Heathlands Farm, which is situated a few miles north of Carlisle. They are involved in a number of conservation projects; the Tree Sparrow Project is just one of them and fits within their BBC Breathing Places activity. As part of their Breathing Places activity and Springwatch, the Farm is welcoming 300 school children in the first week of June. These school children, along with the Farm’s members, will monitor the nest boxes. They are also open to the public on Saturday 6 June.

The Cumbria Tree Sparrow Project is a Cumbria Biodiversity Partnership Project provided by the Cumbria Wildlife Trust and the RSPB with support from Natural England and funded by Cumbria Waste Management Environment Trust.

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