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Project

Our work in Windermere

View from Queen Adelaide's Hill looking out over lake Windermere
Queen Adelaide's Hill is a great spot to see the views out over lake Windermere | © National Trust Images / Chris Lacey

Find out more about our ongoing work in Windermere, from community tree planting and creating new footpaths to caring for rare breed Albion cattle.

In Windermere the National Trust owns a number of small farms, numerous pockets of countryside, several patches of lakeshore and of course, the Footprint building. Windermere is one of the busiest tourist areas and has the largest local community in the Lake District National Park. It is with these things in mind that we have developed our vision for Windermere.

Through our work here we aim to create opportunities for sustainable farming and farm diversification, find more space for nature, build climate resilience, facilitate great experiences in the outdoors and engage the local community in our work, inspiring them to love and care for the natural world around them.

On this timeline we’ll be posting regular updates of the work we’re doing behind the scenes, so keep checking back in to stay up to date.

Our work

8 March 2023

Planting an orchard with Grasmere School

This week we had a great day of tree planting at Common Farm with students from Grasmere Primary School.  We planted 22 apple trees to create a new cider orchard featuring many traditional trees from around the country – these could be harvested for cider, apple juice and involve the community in future harvesting and apple pressing days.

This is one of three new orchards planned for Common Farm, the trees planted will have a small but valuable conservation role to play, providing homes and habitats for wildlife, sources of nectar for insects and pollinators and places to nest for birds in winter.

Grasmere primary is one of three local schools that have been working with us in Windermere over the last year, learning about all aspects of blossom trees and how they are ‘nature’s fest’ for wildlife. The other schools involved in the project are St Cuthbert’s Primary and Leven Valley Primary. Last year the children learnt about germination, they collected crab apples and had fun smashing them up to find their seeds, planting and labelling them in compost. We are thrilled to see that many of these have taken. More seeds were also sent on to the National Trust plant propagation centre for professional propagating, which we hope will be suitable for planting back out in future years.
 

Newly planted trees at Common Farm in Windermere
A new orchard is being created with the help of local schools at Common Farm in Windermere | © National Trust Images / Darryn James