A huge thank you to everyone who took part in our Aids to Daily Living Take Back event on 25 April in Penrith.

In just one day, we received 36 items - including commodes, toilet frames, perching stools, shower chairs and overbed tables.

Thanks to you, these vital pieces of community equipment can now be cleaned, sanitised, and reused, helping others in need while also reducing unnecessary waste.

Together, we are making a real difference - both for people and the planet.

In April, we were announced as this year’s winner of the ‘Local and Public Sector Net Zero Transformation Award’ at the 2025 Green Energy Awards.

This award acknowledges the crucial role that local and public sector leadership plays in transforming the UK’s energy system for a net zero future.

The council’s submission, ‘Westmorland and Furness Council – 2024: the First Year in Our Journey to Net Zero’, sets out the decarbonisation work that has been completed during the first year of our five-year carbon management strategy and action plans, and the achievements made on our journey to becoming carbon net zero by 2037.

In May, we won the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning & Transport (ADEPT) Delivering Sustainable Growth Award for our 'First Year in Our Journey to Net Zero'.

The judges praised the significant steps we've taken towards net zero in our first year including being the UK's first council building to achieve Passivehaus - a voluntary standard for energy efficiency in a building that reduces its carbon footprint - as well as the progress made with our strategies in place to drive action and continue delivery.

We were delighted to attend the inaugural APSE Energy Awards in Birmingham on 27 February as a finalist in the Supporting Innovation category.

Whilst we didn't win, it was great to be shortlisted for our submission on Voreda House and hear about the fantastic work and outcomes of other local authorities across the country in the pursuit of net zero.

We have been shortlisted in the Net Zero category at this year's LGC Awards for our submission '2024: First Year in Our Journey to Net Zero'.

The LGC Awards are a prestigious national award recognising excellence in local government and winners will be announced on 11 June - fingers crossed!

We are thrilled to have also been confirmed as finalists in three categories at this year’s UK Green Business Awards for major projects and strategies associated with our approach to decarbonisation across Westmorland and Furness.

These include:

• ‘Renewable Energy Project of the Year’ for our 2MW solar farm at Sandscale Park in Barrow, which is expected to save around 507 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent annually.
  
  
• ‘Green Building Project of the Year’ for the retrofit of Voreda House, the UK’s first council office building to achieve Passivhaus EnerPHit accreditation.
  
  
• ‘Net Zero Strategy of the Year’ for the progress made during 2024, the first year in the council’s five year plan to become net zero by 2037.

Winners will be announced 11 June - fingers crossed!

In April, we took another significant step in our commitment to a greener, more sustainable future, with the approval of Part Two of our Electric Vehicle (EV) Infrastructure Strategy.

The strategy outlines the next phase of action to expand EV charging facilities across the area and ensure a smooth transition to cleaner transport options, including plans to expand public charging infrastructure in car parks and on streets, prioritising high-use areas and rural communities to meet increasing demand.

A set of targets have been put in place to demonstrate our commitment to delivering EV charging infrastructure over the next five years, helping to remove a key barrier to people’s current confidence in transitioning to electric vehicles.

These targets include:

• Ensuring that all Westmorland and Furness Council owned car parks have electric vehicle chargepoint infrastructure by 2030;
• Delivering 1,548 additional chargepoint sockets across the area by 2030;
• Enabling 60% of households without off-street parking to be within a three-minute walk of a chargepoint by 2030;
• Working with potential partners to increase availability in third-party car parks; and
• Hosting an annual open day where residents can learn more about electric vehicles and the benefits of making the switch.

Read and download the strategy online.

At a recent workshop event in Kendal, we brought together 15 local partnerships to celebrate the community-driven projects tackling climate change and supporting nature recovery across the area.

The event marked the progress of the 24 partnerships awarded a share of £900,000 through the Council’s Climate and Nature Partnership Fund which supports collaborative efforts to reduce emissions, restore nature and ensure a fair transition to a low carbon future for communities.

The workshop provided an opportunity for groups to share their work, learn from one another, and explore how place-based climate and nature action can have lasting positive impacts across Westmorland and Furness.

Projects funded through the scheme range from peatland restoration and invasive species management to the creation of community wildlife gardens and low carbon travel plans.

See below for a snapshot of just some of the projects!

Now a highlight of the UK science festival calendar, the event welcomed BBC Sky at Night presenter Chris Lintott as one of its headline speakers.

A major new feature for 2025 was the Eco Zone, supported by Westmorland and Furness Council. Here, experts from the British Antarctic Survey, Lancaster University, and Liverpool John Moores University delivered fascinating talks on biodiversity, ecology, and carbon emissions.

Families also got hands-on with nature through bushcraft sessions, learning about the vital role of pollinators, making bee bombs and even extracting DNA from strawberries to discover how plants pass on their genetic traits.

2024 was a ground-breaking year in the partnership's efforts to stop the spread and ultimately banish the invasive Himalayan Balsam - a non-native species (INNS) - from the banks of the River Eden and the wider countryside.

Ground-breaking not only in terms of the sheer quantity of this invasive species removed but in the engagement and help of 185 volunteers from communities, school groups and residents across the length and breadth of the Eden river catchment. They estimate that, thanks to everyone's combined efforts, potentially 60 million plants have been prevented from germinating next year.

The Listening Garden was a year-long project in partnership with Vision Support Barrow District and aims to connect young people to nature through sound, music and habitat creation.

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They co-designed and built a garden space for communal listening at their venue, Piel View House in Barrow Park, and ran ten artist led nature connection through sound workshops.

They officially opened the garden with a free drop-in event on 22 March where people were invited to join them for a day of planting, growing, bug house building, songs, sounds and soup.​

The Ormsgill Community Garden has undergone a vibrant transformation through radical landscaping and planting. A colourful new weatherproof mural now celebrates the local identity of Barrow’s wards, with a special focus on Ormsgill.

A new community notice board has been installed to improve local communication and engagement, and a new metal archway has also been added to create a welcoming entrance.

A dedicated men’s group has been established to help maintain the garden and install new furniture, including a pergola and a beautifully crafted bench made by a refugee support group.

These developments are part of a broader effort to create a colourful, inclusive, and inviting space for all - with more improvements still to come!

Thanks to the dedication of Susan Rowlands from the Penrith Swift Society and a successful application to Westmorland and Furness Council’s Community Grant Fund, a local project to protect and celebrate swifts has taken flight.

A grant of £757.98 was awarded to help fund new nest boxes, a swift caller, a camera and a monitor which local business Bakewells generously installed.

The community got involved through talks on swifts, hands-on children’s activities building nest materials and even clay-modelled swifts.

School visits are planned this month, all leading into the Summer Reading Challenge. Swift mobiles are also being created to brighten the children’s area, tying beautifully into the challenge's Story Garden theme.

This is a great example of nature, creativity and community coming together to make a difference.

Peatlands are one of our most valuable natural assets in the fight against climate change. These unique landscapes store vast amounts of carbon, support biodiversity, and help manage flood risk.

This new document we've pulled together explains why peatlands matter. It also details the work of our partners, who are helping to restore and protect these vital ecosystems.

You can also find out how to get involved with the organisations below: 

• The Wildlife Trusts
• The Cumbria Peat Partnership
• North Pennines National Landscape
• Yorkshire Dales National Park
• Arnside and Silverdale National Landscape

United Utilities are taking action to improve waterways in your area.

They’ve accelerated investment across Cumbria, from Cartmel to Cargo, to build the infrastructure we need right now - and for the future.

In Cumbria, United Utilities will be investing more than £900 million to reduce spills from 149 storm overflows and improving 219 kilometres of rivers. This includes a £200 million plan for Windermere to tackle all six of the storm overflows, creating extra storage capacity, which will reduce spills down to 10 or less per year.

They are rolling out new solutions across the county to increase the treatment and storage capacity, limiting the chances of the treatment works becoming overwhelmed during periods of heavy rainfall and reducing the number of times the storm overflows operate. These solutions form part of their accelerated programme of works which will help to reduce storm overflow spills by 60% over the decade to 2030.

Doing your bit for Cumbria

Did you know you can also help improve river water quality too? By making small changes to your daily habits, you can help to protect your home, local community and the environment.

• Only flush the 3Ps down your loo – that’s Pee, Poo and (toilet) Paper
• Put all wet wipes, period products and bathroom rubbish in the bin.

Please also remember to scrape cooled cooking oils, fats and any leftover food waste into the bin. Cooking fats and oils can cause blockages in pipes, drains and the sewer network which can lead to sewer flooding in homes and the environment.

Thank you for your help in protecting the environment. 

Find out more about United Utilities’ investment plans to improve the North West’s rivers.

Following new legislation which came into effect on 1 June, it is now illegal for businesses to sell single-use (disposable) vapes.

This applies to online sales and shops, and applies to all single-use vapes, whether they contain nicotine or not. Businesses will still be able to sell or supply reusable vapes.

Disposable vapes waste valuable resources and are often discarded improperly, releasing harmful substances into the environment and posing fire hazards if they end up in waste processing facilities.

For more information visit: GOV.UK Single-use vapes ban: what businesses need to do.

Sustainable Duddon

“It has enabled us to add more trees and different varieties other than apple. We have planted pear, plum, quince, greengage and damson.

“As it is attached to Kepplewray Trust who cater for the school, the long-term vision is to get the school involved with its upkeep and to supply fruit for their school meals. The school children helped plant the edible hedging we have put around the outside of the orchard.”

Sedgwick Parish Council

“We have been able to plant a small community orchard (of 9 local varieties) and hedge our playground on two sides, replacing a post and wire fence. This has already improved the biodiversity of the playing field as well as providing a community orchard for the future.

“We hope that when the trees fruit residents will come together to harvest the crop and share it out.”

“The funding resourced us to make a permanent and long-term feature to our gardens which we wouldn’t have afforded to do otherwise, to conserve some local apple varieties by planting them there, and to really enhance the appearance and productivity of a prominent field beside a busy road.

“On 4 and 5 July, we are holding a Learn to Scythe workshop, followed by a free National Meadows Day celebration where we will guide visitors through the biodiversity work we have done in the orchard and demonstrate how to manage and increase wildflower populations.”

Photo credit: The Farmer’s Arms Gardening School

“Thanks to funding from Defra’s Coronation Living Heritage Fund - facilitated by Westmorland Furness Council - Cold Springs Community nature reserve in Penrith now proudly hosts a large community orchard. We are also grateful to The Hadfield Trust for their generous support of the Community Orchard at Cold Springs.

The orchard was officially opened on 25 May with a celebratory festival.

"This day is of historical importance to the site, as it is when the people of Penrith gave thanks for the water sources there. Traditionally, a parade led children through the town to fill their bottles from the well, and Cumbria Wildlife Trust [revived] this tradition.”

“The Volunteers have lots of energy and ideas, but limited funds, so the grant provided the impetus to plant a significant new orchard in an area historically well-known for fruit growing, but sadly, with fewer and fewer commercial orchards still active.

“To coincide with the re-established Cartmel Fell Spring Fair, the Volunteers have developed a woodland walk on the Allotment for families to enjoy, inspired by the well-known Stickman stories. At our AGM in late June there will be a sausage and cider event as a celebration for the completion of our Orchard and Nuttery.”

Through the Greening Eden Business Scheme, 22 businesses across Westmorland and Furness have successfully implemented energy-saving measures and low-carbon technologies delivering substantial carbon and cost savings.

Led by Westmorland and Furness Council in partnership with the Cumbria Business Environment Network (CBEN), the scheme provided grants from £1,000 up to £50,000 to help businesses invest in sustainable upgrades such as heating improvements, insulation, renewable energy systems, and energy-efficient equipment.

These targeted interventions have led to 450 tonnes of CO₂e saved annually and over £172,000 in recurring annual cost savings demonstrating that decarbonisation and economic resilience can go hand in hand.

Examples include:

A new ‘green’ book collection for children has launched in libraries across Westmorland and Furness as part of Great Big Green Week.

'Go Green Heroes’ is a vibrant and inspiring new book collection for children. The collection features a specially curated range of titles that celebrate nature, encourage eco-conscious thinking and empower young readers to take action for the planet.

With books available for all age groups - from toddlers to school-aged children - the collection includes imaginative picture books, engaging junior fiction, eye-opening non-fiction and fun eco-projects.

The range of books is available at Barrow Library, Kendal Library and Penrith Library, as well as on request at all Westmorland and Furness Libraries.

No Mow May is over, what's next?

Now the growth season moves into June, things don’t have to get messy or overgrown, but you can still maintain a space for your local wildlife.

By not mowing or reducing the frequency in which you mow, you've been helping to rekindle your wildflowers and in turn thrown your pollinators a much needed lifeline.

You might be concerned that if you let things grow any higher your mower may no longer be able to do its job. If your grassy growth has got away from you, don’t panic. Not all mowers can cope with tall vegetation but most can if you mow in two stages.

Firstly, check your lawn for wildlife and then set the blades as high as possible.

As you mow, progress gradually towards sanctuary areas such as uncut grass strips at boundaries. This leaves an escape route for wildlife.

For more information on how to manage your garden going forward, visit Plantlife's website.

We are once again supporting The Great Big Green Week from 7-15 June.

This year's theme is 'Let's swap together for good' which encourages people to reduce waste and encourage the reuse and recycling of goods.

Great Big Green Week is the UK’s biggest-ever celebration of community action to tackle climate change and protect nature.

Working collaboratively with Cumbria Action for Sustainability, we have provided funding to support grants of up to £300 for not-for-profit groups to help them hold events in their local area across Westmorland and Furness.

To see what events are taking place near you or to have your event added to the list, visit the Zero Carbon Cumbria website.

The annual campaign sees schools, hospitals, workplaces and communities across the UK run events and campaigns to inspire people to take simple steps to protect their and their families’ health from air pollution.

Air pollution affects you from your first breath to your last and causes up to 36,000 deaths in the UK every year. Clean air is essential for our health, and the co-benefits of clean air measures are good for our wellbeing as well as the planet.

The good news is that our air pollution crisis is solvable and there are simple steps we can all take to improve the quality of the air we breathe and cut down on the pollution we emit.

We can all help by:

• Changing the way we travel – incorporating more walking, cycling and public transport is a great way to reduce our impact on the environment, improve our health and fitness, all while saving some money.
• Not idling our engines – idling is a significant contributor to local air pollution but switching off our engine when stationary, for example when waiting at traffic lights, can help.
• Going electric. Consider joining a growing number of electric vehicle owners next time you need to change your car or van. A map of electric vehicle charging locations can be found on our website.

Visit the Clean Air Day website for more information.

Want to take climate action but not sure where to begin?

Cumbria Libraries are responding to the climate emergency by setting up free climate reading groups across the county.

Join over 80 active readers, and growing, and meet with others in your area to read, learn and discuss the climate emergency.

If you are interested in finding or starting your local climate reading group, email Tina Smith.

Wednesday 18 June 7.00-8.15pm on Zoom.

In this free webinar, discover why it really does matter what you throw away, which bins you use and the condition of your rubbish. Learn how recycling your waste correctly saves money, saves precious resources and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

We will look at the things we can all do to help recycle at home, how you can help the recycling process and what the knock-on effects can be of not doing this. We will share top tips on how you can recycle in a way that means more of your waste can be processed and you won’t shut the recycling plant down!

Book your FREE place now.

Thursday 10 July - 6.00pm on Zoom

Cumbria's councils handle around 350 tonnes of clothing waste every year - and that doesn’t include what’s donated to charity shops!

Join an eye-opening talk by Gail Gravett, founding Director of the Cumbria Clothing Collective, as she explores the hidden costs of fast fashion. From the rise of synthetic fibres to the environmental toll of discarded clothes, Gail will unpack the full story behind what we wear - and what we throw away.

You'll leave with a fresh perspective on your wardrobe: how to care for your clothes, make more conscious choices, and keep them in use for longer.

Book your FREE place now.

Monday 14 July - 7.00-8.15pm on Zoom.

This webinar will give the opportunity to ask questions and understand how EVs and the infrastructure works. Experts will outline why you would consider using an electric vehicle, compare battery and combustion costs and energy efficiency data, look at the benefits and costs, as well as detailing what you need to consider before deciding to buy new, second hand or lease.

Information will also be provided on charging - at home (off-street and on-street), away from home and future developments. There will also be a real-life case study showcasing a 'Day in the Life of an EV car driver in Cumbria' where lessons learnt and costs will be shared. 

This will be an opportunity for you to listen, learn, discuss and ask those burning questions.

Book your FREE place now.