Join Conservation Scientist Mo Verhoeven for an inside look into Cumbria Connect’s research landscape — what we study, where we work, and why it matters.
Cumbria Connect is a 42,000‑hectare nature recovery programme stretching from Penrith to Kendal in the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales National Parks. It’s a living, working landscape, where partners are working to restore nature at scale while supporting productive farming and thriving communities, and Mo’s role is to understand what these changes mean for wildlife.
Mo will share how we follow plants, insects, and birds over time, returning to the same places each year to watch how nature responds. You’ll hear how we team up with researchers studying everything from fungi to the structure of habitats, building a fuller picture of what’s happening on the ground.
We’ll also explore how different restoration approaches — tree planting, cattle grazing, and managing deer numbers — shape the land in different ways. And by combining fieldwork with drone and satellite images, we can start to see how the landscape is changing at a much bigger scale.
It’s the story of a landscape in transition — and how we’re learning to read the signs of nature’s recovery.
