Cumbria Nature Festival

11/06/2026

The Tree Amble Cumbria Nature Festival Special is available now!! I really great 45 minutes of interviews from across the festival - including Workington Nature Partnership, Lake District Wildlife Park, Wood, Wick & Knot, Restoring Hardknott Forest, Mic Mayhew, Cumbria Biodiversity Data Centre, The Binsey Field Kitchen , John Miles plus more. It’s a brilliant listen and a lovely reminder of a great weekend! Thanks Pete Leeson and his podcast crew.

After 30 years working to restore nature in forests and on farms, Pete Leeson takes time out to revisit the people he’s met along the way. Throughout the series, Pete discovers how land managers are adapting and responding to the nature crisis we all face,...

10/06/2026

Cumbria Wild Watch! 🐿️🌳🦆🦡🍄👀

Join Cumbria Biodiversity Data Centre for Cumbria Wild Watch 2026 – a Cumbria-wide wildlife survey taking place 25-28 June 2026. By taking part, you can help us understand what wildlife we have in Cumbria!

Observe the wildlife in your garden, park, school, on a walk or at an event (see details of these by following the link below). Record what you see and then send your records to Cumbria Biodiversity Data Centre. It is that simple.

https://www.cbdc.org.uk/get-involved/cumbria-wild-watch/

06/06/2026

Join us on a volunteer day to help maintain and remove tree tubes in a new area of native woodland in Eskdale. You will need to bring lunch, a...

15/05/2026

12/05/2026

Bit of a cheeky one here but if you enjoyed the festival and want to find out more about wildlife in Cumbria, there are three upcoming FREE short courses taking place over the next few weeks in village halls around Cumbria:
Introduction to Butterflies at Bothel, 15th May, 10am-1pm: https://www.ticketsource.com/cumbria-ecoskills/introduction-to-butterflies/e-qmmdbe
Introduction to Small Mammals at Skelmergh, 17th May, 10am-3pm: https://www.ticketsource.com/cumbria-ecoskills/introduction-to-small-mammals/e-qmmdve
Introduction to Bees at Orton, 22nd May, 10am-1pm: https://www.ticketsource.com/cumbria-ecoskills/introduction-to-bees/e-zeeoxr

All welcome - no experience necessary!

Tickets are now available for Introduction to Bees at Orton Market Hall, Penrith on Friday 22nd May 2026. Click the link for further information and to secure your tickets now!

11/05/2026

11/05/2026

Quite a long and personal post this - which as someone who is often described as grumpy and is a self confessed introvert and committed misanthrope, is a rare thing! I’m also no stranger to the lands of hyperbole - please forgive it if you spot it! But I feel I need to do this to help process what just happened. Because I firmly believe that not only HAS something just happened, but that the effects will continue to be felt.

I can’t thank everyone enough for this weekend. I had the BEST time. Organising something like this requires a skill set entirely at odds with those possessed by most naturalist. Asking us to organise an event was like asking a fish to climb a tree. But I think we pulled it off. I’m in awe of the entire organisation committee.

Three quotes from the weekend have stuck with me;

1) from the representative of an unnamed proMinent Person when invited “it won’t be a great use of his time to just come and hear someone talking…” 🤯

2) from an unnamed committee member “[organising this] was harder than climbing to Everest base camp” 😅

3) from Paul Whitfield during our Q&A “PEOPLE are a keystone species” (this one was a profound moment of realisation for me).

In different ways, each of these quotes will stick with me. As will all of the amazing comments we have received from everyone who - in whatever capacity - supported the festival.

So whilst my social battery is LOW and physically I feel like I’ve been run over by a bison, my heart is full. I was with my people this last weekend.

I’ll finish this uniquely personal post with one last (mis)quote which whilst out of context, keeps occurring to me;

“We are going to inherit the earth. There is not the slightest doubt about that. [They] may blast and burn the old world before leaving the stage of history. […] We carry a new world, here in our hearts. That world is growing all the time.”

Finally - THANK YOU to EVERYONE. From my family for giving me the support to commit so much time to this, to the Rivendell Secret Festival site team for all their efforts, the Cumbria Nature Festival committee and every single exhibitor, speaker, volunteer or attendee…. See you next year??!

Sam

11/05/2026

As organisers we d like to thank every single person that stepped through the gates at Rivendell this weekend . Starting with the build team , all volunteers who work around their jobs to prepare the site to showcase this wonderful setting 👋before we arrived , The Binsey Field Kitchen , ( we were a tad out on our attendance expectations ) but service and quality wasn't compromised , our keynote speakers who gave validation to this new festival concept ,travelling great distances to inspire us , our local nature related groups for showcasing their projects with exhibits and informative talks , the crafters who s creative workshops brought moment s of calm ,with levels of concentration not usually associated with a Rivendell festival 😁 , sniff for the use of the yoga Yuhrt and his pop up beginners yoga sessions , attendees for your participation and lastly the very small committee that pulled this huge event off . We are all super proud of what we brought together over this weekend .
Personally my dream was connectivity , connecting our landscapes , connecting our groups , connecting us as passionate biodiversity advocates together to show us we are not alone , sharing is caring 🫶 .
Please feel free to share your moments as for organisers it's all a bit of a blur .
A couple of weekends highlights