Wildlife site survey to assess habitat status

St Oswald's churchyard in Ravenstonedale is among 100 sites already surveyed

A survey of 1,600 wildlife sites is looking at how important habitats are faring years after they were given special status.

Cumbria Wildlife Trust is looking at its Local Wildlife Sites, which are corridors used by insects and animals to move through the county, linking better-known areas such as nature reserves.

Emily Stewart-Rayner, from the trust, said many "haven't been surveyed since their designation many decades ago".

Local Wildlife Sites, which include woodlands, meadows and verges, are identified and selected using scientific criteria and, although they are not protected by law, their environmental importance is recognised.

"Understanding their condition is really important in giving us a snapshot of how wildlife habitats across Cumbria are faring now," said Ms Stewart-Rayner.

Once the surveys are complete, an expert panel of professionals and volunteer botanists will decide if the areas still meet the selection criteria or if they should be re-designated.

Sites surveyed include meadows and verges

In the last 18 months, the Cumbria County Wildlife Sites Project has surveyed more than 100 locations.

Ms Stewart-Rayner said monitoring the environmental diversity of the sites helped pinpoint "where best to focus efforts for dealing with increasing pressures to the natural world".

Churchyard 'highlight'

St Oswald's churchyard in Ravenstonedale, near Kirkby Stephen, has already been surveyed.

Cumbria Wildlife Trust said this had been a "highlight" in the process, with lichens, mosses and ferns found "thriving" between the monastery and a nearby stream, alongside many trees and flowers within the grounds.

"It shows how important habitats can be managed for both nature and the people using the church," the trust said.

Other locations include the disused railway line that runs from Newbiggin on Lune to Kirby Stephen, where the scotch argus butterfly was found - one of only a few sites in England with habitat that can support the species.

The trust said urban areas can be really important habitats as they provide "a stepping stone" for wildlife.

Some sites have not been surveyed for several years, the trust said

One case is Midgey Gill, a woodland area between the housing estates and Loop Road South near Whitehaven Castle.

Here the survey found many types of fern thriving, such as lady fern and broad buckler fern, and birds such as kestrels, sparrowhawks and great spotted woodpeckers.

The project is being carried out in collaboration with private and public landowners, as well as local authorities and other environmental organisations.