Thank you for helping shape the HEART project
Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the HEART project so far. Whether you attended an event, took part in a conversation or completed a survey, your insight has helped shape the next stage of the project.
Over four months, we listened to communities across the Lake District and carried out detailed desk-based research and mapping. The message was clear: climate change is already affecting the region through increasingly extreme and unpredictable weather and changing seasonal patterns.
These changes are having real impacts on landscapes, ecosystems, farming and local communities. Challenges include damage to infrastructure, changing habitats and increasing pressure on the people who live and work in the Lake District.
While there are still areas of uncertainty, there is broad agreement that we must act now to plan for and adapt to the impacts of a changing climate.
The HEART Grant Fund
In response to what we heard, we launched the HEART Grant Fund to support projects addressing the risks climate change poses to the Lake District’s cultural and natural heritage.
We received a very strong response and the quality of applications was exceptionally high. The grant panel faced some difficult decisions and selected the projects that most closely aligned with the aims and priorities of the HEART project.
Selected projects
We are pleased to announce that 12 projects have been selected from across the Lake District.
The projects cover a wide range of themes including:
- Education and interpretation
- Climate-resilient tree nurseries
- Sustainable food and farming
- Oral history and cultural heritage
- Citizen science and ecological monitoring
- Practical conservation skills
Many of the selected projects will include opportunities for local people and visitors to get involved. Please visit the relevant
Projects in detail
Restoring Hardknott
Project: Establishing the Dale Head tree nursery to support the Upper Duddon Landscape Recovery programme.
Your Garden Companions CIC
Project: Working with older people to explore the heritage of gardening and how gardening practices are adapting to climate change.
BeakTech
Project: Installing digital bird-listening stations at five education sites to monitor which species are present and how this changes over time.
Staveley Community Energy CIC
Project: Purchasing a wet-weather shelter, transport and tools for a community growing project, enabling more schools to visit and take part.
Robinson Place Farm
Project: Delivering inclusive farm visits for people in Cumbria who experience barriers to accessing the countryside. Participants will learn about heritage skills, wellbeing, horticulture and farming.
Ernest Cook Trust
Project: Creating and distributing eco-packs for farmers to encourage nature-friendly farming and provide learning opportunities for young people.
Friends of the Lake District
Project: Improving the extent, health and quality of hedgerows in Cumbria through practical conservation, community engagement and volunteering events.
Public involvement: Volunteering opportunities will be available. Check the Friends of the Lake District website.
Friends of Ullswater Way
Project: Delivering an education programme for secondary school students in the Ullswater Valley focused on the ecology of Ullswater and expanding the Lakefly citizen science programme.
Public involvement: Citizen science opportunities will be available. Please check the Friends of Ullswater Way website.
Basecamp North Lakes
Project: Bringing together schools and artists to create collaborative interpretations of the site and the work being undertaken to protect its natural habitats for the future.
Public involvement: Details to follow.
Patterdale Estate
Project: Delivering climate adaptation work to protect ancient and veteran trees within the Lake District’s agro-pastoral landscape.
Trekking Tom
Project: Leading guided Climate Conservation Walks which combine practical activities such as litter picking with informal learning about cultural heritage and climate change in the Lake District.
Public involvement: Walks and conservation activities will be open to participants. Please check the Trekking Tom website.
Dry Stone Walling Association
Project: Delivering an introduction to dry stone walling for 10 veterans, contributing to the protection of an important heritage skill and valuable natural habitat.
Public involvement: Participant places will be available. Please check the Dry Stone Walling Association website.
What happens next?
Many of the projects will begin immediately. We will work closely with each grant recipient to document their progress, learning and impact.
By the end of September 2026, we hope to have a clearer understanding of what effective climate adaptation within a World Heritage Site can look like in practice.
From October to December 2026, the Lake District Foundation will bring together everything learned through the HEART project to create a Climate Adaptation and Cultural Heritage Action Plan.
We will also explore sustainable finance opportunities to help successful approaches continue and grow, protecting the Lake District’s landscapes, heritage and communities for generations to come.
