Dealing with Environmental Challenges Collectively: The Lo e a e … · This booklet is dedicated to the memory of Danny Leck This publication was produced by Loweswater Care Project

Dealing with Environmental Challenges Collectively:

The Loweswater Care ProjectCommunity Catchment Management at Loweswater, Cumbria

This booklet is dedicated to the memory of Danny Leck

This publication was produced by Loweswater Care Project participants. It aimsto document the LCP’s innovative ways of working, and to highlight the achievements and insights gained from understanding and acting collectively inLoweswater to address complex environmental issues.

Main: Loweswater.Photo: Getmapping.com.

Inset: Danny Leck(middle) discussing new septic tanks withfarmers, 2007.

Covers: Photo: John Macfarlane.

Dealing with Environmental Challenges Collectively: The Loweswater Care Project 1

Dealing with Environmental Challenges Collectively: The Loweswater Care Project2

Foreword

Over the last 50 years or so, farming practices and indeed the way of life inrural areas have altered dramatically. So too has the environment in whichthese changes have played out.

A number of years have passed since local people began to consider how toimprove the water quality of Loweswater, beginning with eleven farmersworking together, led by the late Danny Leck back in 2002.

This booklet explains what has been attempted by local people workingtogether with scientists and agencies since then and in the form of theLoweswater Care Project. It gives a voice to these diverse participants toshow how they have collaborated and presents some of the findings thathave come to the fore and the things they have achieved. It also considerswhat practical and viable ways forward there may be to better understandand act on complex environmental issues.

Together, we carried out various surveys and monitoring programmes,recognising certain issues, some of which have been addressed. But it mustbe understood that bettering the quality of the lake will not be a quick fix.

Kath Leck

Right: Installing themonitoring buoy onLoweswater. Photo: StephenMaberly.

Right: The physical‘catchment’ ofLoweswater, a smalllake in the EnglishLake District, isdefined as the areawithin which waterflows towards thelake. The catchment isdelineated here by thered line. Photo: Lisa Norton.



Introducing Loweswater

David Davies, Thackthwaite, Loweswater

Life in Loweswater, for thosefortunate enough to be able to livethere, is good. Loweswater is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful valleys in England, withstunning mountains, fast-runningbecks, rugged fells and the uniquesense of place that is associatedwith “the Lakes”. Around 200 peoplereside in the parish (2001 Census),with around a quarter of that number permanently resident in thephysical catchment of Loweswater.Despite its small size and relatively remote locality, a wealth of local activities are enjoyed by Loweswater residents – often incombination with nearby villages – from gardening clubs to ramblingsocieties to local history fraternities.

Loweswater, like most ruralsettlements, has a complexsocial make-up, the people livinghere come from very varied backgrounds. Not so longago, the valley was a site of majormining installations, and it was hostto textile, brewing, tanning, andfulling industries and a diverse agriculture. Its people came fromboth the near locality and from faraway across the UK and beyond.Now, the social make-up of thecatchment is less determined byworking opportunities but the valleystill supports a diverse community.

What one sees if one looks closelyat this lovely place is that - likemany rural areas in our highly modernised society - it harbours amass of seeming contradictions andparadoxes. The lake, the land, thefarms, the mountains, the rivers,the stone-walled fields, the sheepand the wild animals signify the rurality of the catchment – a simple-looking rurality that is highlyprized in the beautiful Lake DistrictNational Park. Yet in many respectsLoweswater is no less complex aplace than a district of a large metropolitan centre. As we shallsee later on in this publication, issues of housing, work, populationand the environment constantlyraise challenges in this rural settingjust as they do in our cities.

For example, as for many ruralparishes today, very few residentsare able to earn a living withinLoweswater. There has been somedevelopment in tourism in theparish (a hotel, local B&Bs, as wellas a camping barn are thriving) providing some jobs, but there arefew other services to be found here.Life in the valley relies heavily onthe infrastructures of local townsthat are within reach. Local propertyprices reflect market desirabilityand have the unfortunate effect ofpricing young local people with families out of the area. Forms offarming have changed quite radically in the last 60 years in thecatchment and even beef and sheepfarming, which have historicallybeen important in the area, look increasingly precarious as smallfamily-run businesses struggle to

remain competitive. Like so manyother rural areas of Britain, thelocal landscape is increasingly lessa landscape of production, butrather one that is characterised byconsumption – a landscape to beconsumed by occasional visitors,holidaymakers, and those who livehere.

Loweswater is a small communitywhere some big issues are beingplayed out. The Loweswater CareProject has offered some insightsnot only into the science and ecology of Loweswater, but alsointo some important cultural andsocial issues of the day. There areno easy solutions but there are interesting and illuminating puzzlesand paradoxes around our concerns. The LCP has shone somelight on these and allowed us tothink critically and positively aboutthe beautiful but paradoxical placethat is Loweswater.


Right: Blue-greenalgae on Loweswateron the 18th February2008. Photo: Judith Tsouvalis.

Bottom: Loweswater.Photo: Lisa Norton.


Loweswater’s blue-

green algae - a matter of

concern…

Claire Waterton, Centre for the Study ofEnvironmental Change(CSEC), Department ofSociology, Lancaster University

In the last ten years or so, algalblooms such as the ones seen onthis page have become an increasingly frequent sight inLoweswater. These blooms arecaused by blue-green algae(cyanobacteria) that under calmconditions can float to the surface ofthe lake. When blooming, they tendto form an oily scum that can covermuch of the lake or, more commonly, can be pushed by thewind into one area of the lake. Blue-green algae are an indicatorand a cause of poor water quality.More importantly, these microscopic organisms which are,in fact, bacteria, can potentially betoxic to animals and humans.

Above: Blue-greenalgae on Loweswateron the 18th February2008.


Blue green algae became a matterof local concern in Loweswater inthe early 1990s when it becameclear that they:

• Marred the attraction ofLoweswater for locals and visitors, particularly when inbloom;

• Could pose a danger to livestockand other animals (e.g. dogs) dueto their potential toxicity;

• Posed a potential danger to people swimming in the lake during and after a bloom;

• Signalled declining water quality;• Brought to the attention of the

Environment Agency the issue ofpollution from farms and households;

• Alerted the Environment Agencyto the likely failure of Loweswaterto meet new lake water qualitystandards under the EuropeanWater Framework Directive; and

• Began to sour relations betweenthe National Trust (owners of thelake) and farmers (land-usersaround the lake).

People’s reactions to

what appeared as a

purely ‘physical’ problem

People reacted to what initially appeared to be a primarily physicalproblem in many different ways.

• Scientists suggested that thechemical element, phosphorus -either from farm fertilisers, farmmanures, farm slurry tanks ordomestic septic tanks - was getting into the lake and ‘feeding’the blue-green algae.

• Many local people as well asagency representatives suspected farmers were to blamefor the appearance of the algae.

• Loweswater farmers, in turn, rallied together as a group (theLoweswater Improvement Project) under the leadership oflocal farmer Danny Leck to address issues they felt theycould control. Farm soils weresampled, the application of fertiliser was adjusted accordingto soil sample results, new systems for the separation ofrainwater and slurry/septic tankswere put in place on severalfarms.

• Scientists and locals worked together to gain small grants toput in new septic tanks arounddomestic and business propertiesat the north end of the lake.

• The owners of the lake, the National Trust, felt they had noway of addressing this problemexcept to post warning signsaround the lake.

Below: The problemof blue-green algae inthe lake began tospark off a series ofconnections andactivities.


The Loweswater Care

Project

The Loweswater Care Project (orLCP for short) was formed in 2008to build on all the activities thatwere coming into being around theproblem of blue-green algae inLoweswater.

The rationale behind the LCP was tocreate a meeting-ground wherelocal people, agencies, scientistsand anyone who cared aboutLoweswater could come together onequal terms and pool their diverseknowledges and understandings ofblue-green algae in order to identifypossible causes and solutions. Theforum was run following a numberof simple principles that LancasterUniversity academics adopted fromthe work of a well-known philosopher of science, Bruno Latour. Prominent among these wasthe principle that all knowledgesand expertise are valuable and opento debate, and that it is important totake disregarded views seriously.Furthermore:

• happenings in nature should notbe taken as self-evident but constantly questioned;

• a valid and routine part of makingknowledge together is the acknowledgement of uncertainties about facts;

• an open-mindedness towardsconnections and relations, and arethinking of these, should beconstantly encouraged;

• doubt, fierce debate, and questioning are to be extended toall facts, theories and representations in the LCP.

Top: LCP meeting inthe Parish Hall on the15 July, 2009: ‘Gettingto Know YourInstitutions’.

Middle left:Loweswater ParishHall.

Middle right: LCPmeeting on the 18thJune, 2008: ‘Knowing /RememberingLoweswater – AnEvening of Stories /Evidence’.

Bottom: Objectsbrought in fordiscussion by LCPparticipants onthe18th June, 2008.


Between mid 2007 and December2010, the LCP met fifteen times,roughly every two months. Early on,participants formulated a missionstatement:

“ The Loweswater Care Project (LCP) is a grassroots

organisation made up of local residents, businesses,

farmers, ecologists, sociologists, agronomists,

environmental agencies and other interested parties.

We work collectively to identify and address

catchment-level problems in an inclusive and open

manner. The LCP’s vision is to gain a better

understanding of the diverse challenges faced by the

Loweswater catchment and together to seek

economically, socially and ecologically viable ways

forward and put them into practice.”

One of our main achievements hasbeen working together, doing science together, listening to andunderstanding local experiences,and connecting up very differentnarratives about Loweswater.

Through this, we have come to amuch fuller understanding of thiscomplex environment – of the lake,of local relations, of relationshipsbetween farm livelihoods, land useand water quality, of agency and institutional responsibilities, of theboundaries of scientific knowledge,and of the opportunities and constraints that we face whenthinking about how to deal with (orlive with) blue-green algae inLoweswater.

What have these principles meantfor the way science is done in theLoweswater Care Project?

Below: The first echo-sounding survey of thefish populations ofLoweswater in 2007.Part of the monitoringsystem is visible on theport side of the boat.

Left: An echogram recordedduring one of the echo-soundingsurveys. The bottom of the lakecan be seen as the thick linerunning across the bottom ofthis ‘cross-section’ ofLoweswater, with numeroussmall targets above it forming alarge blue cloud in the watercolumn.


Science in the public

domain

Stephen Maberly, Centre for Ecology andHydrology (CEH), Lancaster

Natural scientists are trained tothink and work with phenomenathat are tangible and quantifiable,but this project has required me toshift out of my comfort zone into another area by working with socialscientists and local residents. Whyis this hard? First, because I am nottrained as a social scientist and donot have the necessary backgroundknowledge. Secondly, the naturaland social sciences have differentvocabularies that need translatingbefore communication can be effective. Thirdly, there is a reduction in predictability when social elements are included.

Therefore, in trying to understandcomplex environmental systems,making links between ecology andeconomy, for example, can be particularly difficult. Overall, Isometimes feel that I am beingpushed to the limit! Nevertheless, I am keen to use my specialistknowledge to improve lake conditionand it is clear to me that this canonly be achieved in a social contextthat includes different kinds of experts and stakeholders, and mostimportantly, the community livingand working in the catchment. However, a natural scientist canoffer a detailed understanding ofthe processes leading to an environmental problem, such aspoor water quality, allowing possible solutions to be exploredwith the community and agencies.This will lead, hopefully, to the identification of sustainable solutionsthat are effective but also practicaland balance the needs of the localecology with the local economy.

Above: Creating a flowof data between themonitoring buoy onthe lake and CEH atLancaster Universitywas achieved via alocal farmer’s internetconnection.

Left: The 12 transects(arrows showingdirection of travelacross the lake)followed during theecho-soundingsurveys ofLoweswater, togetherwith the underlyingdepth contours (inmetres).

1016 15

N

10

1.0 0.5

km

0

10 515

1616 15

5


The importance of social

scientific understandings

Judith Tsouvalis, Centrefor the Study of Environmental Change(CSEC), Department ofSociology, Lancaster University

Thirty-eight people contributed awealth of information aboutLoweswater in semi-structured interviews carried out at the beginning of the Loweswater CareProject. Their memories of land-usechanges, changes in agriculturalpractice, and the ways in which relations within the community andthe composition of the communityof Loweswater have changed overthe years painted a rich picture ofthis fascinating catchment. Therewere many keen observations of climate and environmental changein Loweswater, and many valuabletheories were put forward as to whythe quality of the water in the lakemight have deteriorated. All thesecontributed substantially to our understandings of Loweswater, andwe used these local observations,memories and theories to informthe research priorities and themeeting agendas of the LoweswaterCare Project.

Local knowledge pointed amongother things to the need to lookmore carefully at:• policy changes affecting

watercourse management incatchments like Loweswater;

• the geomorphology of the catchment and its significance forchanges in water levels andwater quality;

• cultural and demographicchanges affecting the care andmaintenance of natural andhuman made landscape featuresin the catchment, such asdrainage channels, lake side vegetation, dry-stone walls, andother features.

Below: semi-naturalvegetation managedby farmers to act as abuffer zone at thenorth end ofLoweswater, 2009.Photo: Lisa Norton.

Middle left: Iredaleplace in the 1970s.Photo: Harry Spencer.

Bottom left:Vegetation clearingcarried out at theoutlet of the lake byfarmers in thecatchment togetherwith the NationalTrust. Photo: Ken Bell.


Acting out multiple roles

Ken Bell, Loweswater resident,farmer, and part-time researcher

The concept of playing the dualroles of farmer and research teammember was a new and very rewarding one for me as I was keento use scientific approaches to manage my land in an environmentally friendly way, butwithout impacting on productivity.This concern is shared by otherfarmers in Loweswater. Key inachieving this was to act on the ecological and land use data produced for the catchment by LisaNorton (Centre for Ecology and Hydrology) and John Rockliffe (Senior Farming Advisor, MitchellsAuction Company Ltd., Cocker-mouth). Soil samples were taken oneach farm and analysed for residuallevels of nitrogen, phosphorus andpotassium and pH levels. Eachfarmer was given a full report on“Best Practice” needed to reducepotential overload of these nutrients

without affecting output and withthe benefit of reducing input costs.

Farmers are notorious for being individualistic and following practices that suit their “own way”of thinking, but following the approach above allowed us to movecollectively towards managing theland in a way that would benefitwater and lake quality but still enable us to retain our individuality.

One other major benefit thatemerged from this project is the improved dialogue and relationshipbetween farmers and agencies suchas the EA, defra and the NT.

The relationship between land managers and the land is fundamental to the nature of theBritish landscape. In Loweswater,as in the Lake District as a whole,farming shapes both the uplandfells and the in-bye land in the valleys. As a farmland ecologist, I am interested in understandinghow farming impacts on both the quantity and quality of habitats,recognising that in areas likeLoweswater farms contain a variety

Working together to understand links

between farming, land management and water

Lisa Norton, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH), Lancaster

Above: Swaledales atHudson Place. Photo: Ken Bell.


Loweswater’s social and

economic make-up

Alec Bond, local resident

To understand fully all of the issuesin the catchment, university researchers mounted a study of thesocio-economic structure of thecommunity through interviews withlocal residents. This highlightedonce more the long standing problems of hill farming and theerosion of truly local communities.

Conservation of a particular landscape and associated culturalheritage requires conservation ofthe socio-economic order, whichcreated that landscape, not just inLoweswater but throughout the National Park. Above all else thisrequires conservation of hill farming. Today, hill farming operates at the margins of financialviability. A strategy to increase farmincome, especially to encourageyoung people to remain in or returnto the industry, is required.

Working together on the algae itself was one thing.

Allowing connections to be made from the blue-green

algae to other issues that people felt were related was

another key principle of our working together.

The steady erosion of the local community is the second majorproblem, particularly the loss ofyoung people. Part of this problemis referred to above, but isexacerbated by the lack of affordable housing, due to the relentless pressure of outside demand for retirement and secondhomes. Local people often have toleave the National Park to seek affordable homes outside. Henceconservation of the rural culturalheritage is under threat. Loweswater is a scattered community in a designated ‘QuietArea’ of the Park subject to restrictive planning control overnew buildings.

A solution to these problems is required. The LCP has provided aforum in which it is possible to

debate these sensitive issues andconnect them to the agencies withresponsibilities for the natural andcultural heritage of this area.

of habitats besides grassland. Aswell as the high quality landscape atLoweswater, a couple of importantattributes of Loweswater made it a really interesting place to look at relationships between farming andthe environment. One was the intimate relationship between landand water in a small catchmentwhere the impacts on the water inthe lake (with the exception of atmospheric impacts) were all likelyto derive from land management

changes. The opportunity to workwith colleagues specialising in a different area of ecology to understand the links between landand water has been novel and exciting. Secondly, work atLoweswater has also provided theopportunity to make links betweenthe land managers and the land invery different ways to traditionalscientific approaches. These traditional approaches tend to try tosimplify inputs to simple numbers

representing particular aspects ofmanagement. Taking a more holistic approach, made possible bythe interdisciplinary and inclusivestyle of the LCP, provides fargreater understanding and mutual respect. I believe this willhelp to improve catchment management at Loweswater.

Above: National Parkmanagers discuss thelatest policies withLoweswater CareProject participants.


• Leslie Webb:What is the contribution of domestic cleaning detergents tophosphorous loads and how well are the domestic sewagetreatment plants removing phosphorous before discharge oftheir effluents and sludges?

• David Davies:What role might tourism play inthe future economic developmentof Loweswater and how do localsfeel about such development?

The LCP initiated 5 small projects

• Angus Winchester/Helen Bennion:Can we compare lake sedimentsamples and their results to historical data and records ofland-use and technologicalchanges in the catchment?

• Stephen Maberly:Do fields with appropriate levelsof phosphorus in the soil for agriculture nevertheless losesubstantial amounts of phosphorus to Loweswater?

• Nick Haycock:What does the geomorphology ofthe Loweswater catchment tellus about the condition of the lakeat the present time and what actions might improve waterquality?

Science and the LCP - the small research projects

£35,000 UK research council funding for small projects arising out of the LCP

Leslie Webb (Local resident)Survey of house-hold detergents and

septic tank operation

Angus Winchester (LU) and Helen Bennion (UCL)

Land-use and lake nutrient records

Nick Haycock (Haycock Associates)Investigation of sediment and flow in

Dub Beck and Dub/Park Beck

Stephen Maberly (CEH)How does P travel from soil

to watercourses?

David Davies and Emer Clarke(Local residents)

Tourism in a Quiet Valley


PROJECT A

Survey of local washing

practices and septic tank

operation in relation to

domestic phosphorous

inputs to Loweswater

Lake – Leslie Webb

One of the main sources of phosphates in Loweswater issewage discharges from domesticsewage treatment plants atdwellings - this phosphorous comesfrom toilets, food preparation andthe use of phosphates in cleaningcompounds. The research encompassed:

• a survey of the use of domesticwashing detergents at propertiesdraining to the lake

• a review of the phosphate contentof commercially-available detergents, notably for automaticlaundry and dish washing machines;

• a survey of the operational stateof the existing domestic sewagetreatment plants, notably in relation to their ability to removephosphorous compounds;

• an estimate, based on the abovesurvey data, of the phosphorousloads from sewage dischargedwithin the lake catchment.

Estimated phosphorus loads from sewage

compared to other sources

None of the properties surveyed werefound to use laundry detergents containing phosphates. While all surveyed properties had laundrywashing machines, automatic dishwashers were present at onlyabout 60% of properties. Of these,about 60% used detergents containingmore than 30% phosphates. From detergent usage rates at theLoweswater properties, it is estimated that phosphorus from detergents accounts for about 5% ofthe total phosphorous in raw sewage.

There are 18 domestic sewage treatment plants in Loweswater ranging from rather old, simple septictanks that only remove particulate solids and store the resultant sludge,to modern “package” plants providinga level of treatment comparable withthat at a sewage treatment worksserving a village or town. The performance at several of the olderplants is limited by several factorssuch as an inadequate frequency ofsludge removal.

The primary sludge removed fromsome plants is disposed of within the

lake catchment and their phosphorusload could thus still reach the lake.The treated sewage effluents are alldischarged to land adjacent to thetreatment plants.

The net removal of phosphorus fromthe raw sewage in the treatmentplants is estimated to be about 13% at present leaving about 35 kg phosphorus per year discharged in effluents and sludges to land withinthe lake catchment. Under the mostfavourable conditions for phosphorusremoval/retention within the soil, theoverall removal of phosphorus by thetreatment systems/land could be ashigh as about 35%, leaving about 26kg phosphorus per year that couldreach the lake. This assumes no further removal in the soil by chemical adsorption on soil particlesor by incorporation in growing plants.The latter could well take place, butthe effluent phosphorus would be incompetition with phosphorus fromany fertiliser applied to land in thevicinity of the sewage disposal points.These results are summarised in thefigure below.

100

80

60

40

20

0

kg

P p

a

2006 study - 80 PE this study - 63 PE

Fertiliser

FarmyardSlurry

Untreatedsewage

Treatedsewage

Untreatedsewage

Sewageafter

currenttreatment

Sewageafter bestpossible

treatment

2.1 kg P from detergents

168

52

96

24

4035

26


PROJECT B

Linking Historical

Land-Use Change with

Palaeolimnological

Records of Nutrient

Change in Loweswater –

Helen Bennion and Angus Winchester

This small project sought to discover whether any relationshipcould be established between thechronology of nutrient enrichmentin Loweswater recorded in environmental evidence, andchanging patterns of land userecorded in historical sources (annual Agricultural Returns,which provide statistics at parishlevel from 1866 to 1988).

• Analysis of the remains of diatoms (single celled, siliceousalgae) from the lake-bed core,identified two periods of nutrientenrichment in the lake, one in themid-19th century, the second c. 1950.

• Linking historical and environmental data suggests thatthere was a strong relationshipbetween the timing of nutrientenrichment in Loweswater andchanging patterns of land use.

• Significant land use changes inthe mid-19th century (spread offield drainage, use of lime, intensification of land use) andthe mid-20th century (increase inthe acreage of improved grassland, increases in livestocknumbers, use of artificial

fertilisers) correlate with the twoperiods of major change in thediatom record, strongly suggesting that changes in farming practice over the last 200years have contributed to the nutrient enrichment of the lake.

Right: Charting landuse change since1866. Annualagricultural returns:parish summaries,1866-1988 (TheNational Archives,MAF 68. Photo: Sarah Rose.

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DI-TP

1700

1750

1800

1850

1900

1950

2000

Age

(AD

)

Diatom abundances in Loweswater estimated from a

core of lake-bed sediment.


PROJECT C PROJECT D

Hydrogeomorphological

investigation of the main

streams feeding into and

out of Loweswater –

Nick Haycock

Haycock Associates were commissioned by Lancaster University and The National Trust toundertake a hydrogeomorphologicalinvestigation of the streams into andout of Loweswater. The investigationincluded a detailed field walk undertaken in October 2009 andsubsequent analysis of the site inNovember 2009. The research considered the interaction of thelake level on the geomorphology ofthe becks that discharge intoLoweswater and explored a seriesof channel and floodplain restoration options.

Findings included:

• there are some contemporaryerosion dynamics which could beassociated with lowering of thewater surface of Loweswaterpost 1938. Channelisation andrevetment of Dub Beck and for asmall section of Holme Beck,seem to be associated withdrainage works post 1938.Drainage works on Dub Beck andWhittern appear to be more historical, with the culverting ofDub Beck at the Grange Hotelfrom a much earlier era.

• There appear to be some optionsto create additional floodplainwetlands, especially on Dub Beckand Whittern Beck, which mayresult in the reduction of finesediment entering Loweswaterfrom these catchments.

• There are no recommended options for Holme Beck, apartfrom allowing the current geomorphological processes tocontinue. The current rate of erosion may reduce locally to theshoreline if Loweswater lakelevel was restored.

• The fencing of the incised Highnook Beck valley needs to bestrongly considered, in order toreduce sediment supply to thelower sections of the channel,before Maggie’s bridge.

How phosphorus

travels from soil to

watercourses –

Stephen Maberly

The survey of soil-phosphorus thatwas undertaken in the fields withinLoweswater suggested that mosthad appropriate levels to maximisegrass production. However, an appropriate level of phosphorus forproduction does not necessarilymean that phosphorus does notleach from the soil. This small project analysed phosphorus concentration on eight occasionsbetween March and July 2010 fromstreams within seven fields with different phosphorus-levels. Thestream-survey was undertaken byKen Bell, a local farmer but also amember of the research team. Theresults showed that:• even in streams draining areas

with relatively low levels of phosphorus, the concentration ofphosphorus can be substantialand in some instances greaterthan the concentration in thelake;

• there is a real trade-off betweenmaximising food production andsustaining the local economy andlivelihoods on the one-hand andthe ecology of Loweswater on theother.


Community and Culture -

Tourism in a Quiet Valley -

David Davies and EmerClarke

The purpose of this qualitative research project was to understandpeople’s attitudes towards socialand economic development, especially that connected totourism. Just over half of the 60people approached provided responses to a questionnaire on thissubject. A small number of in-depthconversational interviews were alsoheld which provided more contextualised accounts of aspectsof life in Loweswater. Later, LCPparticipants were invited to considerthe results collectively.

Key findings of this study were:

• Loweswater’s population: thereis a predominance of older people; few young people; andfew families living in Loweswater;

• Local economy: farms are declining; local skills are disappearing; commuting is declining; career starts are notpossible in Loweswater; tourismis accepted - there is a hotel, abothy, a B&B, and a holiday cottage - but large numbers oftourists are not welcomed by themajority. In short, there are fewjobs for local people;

• Housing: it is too expensive forlocal and young people to buy; offcomers raise house prices;renting is not readily availableand is relatively expensive.

The Loweswater community is nowmainly an ‘offcomer’ community,the majority of whom are originallyfrom metropolitan areas and middle-class backgrounds andwhose views and perceptions of the community are about retirementand recreation – not about work andeconomic development. Theolder/historical Loweswater was aplace of work and employment. The research indicated the existence ofperhaps two cultures within thecommunity with crossover betweenthem. The valley is active withmainly retired people and a declining but significant group offarm families.

The study recommends: • critical thinking and debate about

what changes need to occur between those wanting little tochange, and those that see theneed for larger changes;

• this debate needs to be about thepossibility of Loweswater beingan active valley that can hostyoung people and families;

• Loweswater residents need todebate the possibility of tourismbeing a major local economic activity that has the potential togrow;

• new types of investment and employment could be attractedand housing stock for rent couldbe released;

• a change of culture away fromhome ownership and towardslocal sustainability could be explored;

• non-invasive tourism was supported by nearly all respondents, and the researchraised the question of whetherLoweswater could become askill-centre and a ‘learning valley’ using the skills and experience of its entire population.

PROJECT E


What agencies made of

the LCP

A perspective from theEnvironment Agencyby Charlie Bradshaw

I became involved with the Loweswater Care Project in 2008,explaining the role of the Environment Agency and how wework together with other organisations to tackle issues in thecatchment. This included providinginformation about the Water Framework Directive, one of themain drivers underpinning this project and explaining the current‘moderate’ classification forLoweswater lake and the objectivesto prevent deterioration and achievegood ecological and chemical statusby 2027.

As a result of community involvement, the impact that widerissues have had on the area alsoemerged, such as changes in population density and demographics, as well as access andrecreation. I also remember someone commenting that ‘there’salways someone from one organisation or another carrying outresearch or taking samples roundhere’ challenging the co-ordinationof research carried out by the manyorganisations involved. The LCP has

Agency representatives from the National Trust, the

Environment Agency, the Lake District National Park

Authority, Natural England, and others were

important participants of the LCP.

now become a hub for receiving anddisseminating information and tryingto understand these issues. Specificresearch has been carried out tohelp fill in the missing pieces; createa more in-depth picture, and ultimately influence improvements.Preventing deterioration of thecatchment and adapting to the possible impact of future climate and land use changes are challengeswhich lie ahead and I look forward tothe continuation of this valuableproject.

more >

Institutional learning

Nigel Watson, GeographyDivision, Lancaster University

The LCP was conceived and developed as an alternative approach to environmental governance. However, it does nothave any formal status or power,and is completely reliant on voluntary participation from members of the local community,scientists and the agencies thathave responsibility for water andland management in the catchment.In this sense, the LCP is a kind of‘additional’ institution which seeksto influence those with power, usinga mixture of research, debate andpersuasion.

Some key lessons for the LCP andfor other similar groups haveemerged:

• Environmental problems such asalgal blooms can be interpretedand defined in many differentways. Taking time to considermultiple perspectives and arguments is a vital early step towards collaborative action.

• Working across institutionalboundaries can be difficult, particularly when agencies arepursuing their own policy objectives, often at very differentgeographical scales. Specificcatchment management projectsmust be capable of extendingtheir reach and influence beyond

Above: Agency representatives attendedmany LCP meetings as full participants.However, on one occasion the LCP invitedthem to form a panel to answer questionsput to them by increasingly articulate localpeople about their roles and responsibilitiesin the catchment.

Lessons we can draw

from the LCP


the physical boundary of the catchment itself.

• Agency roles, responsibilities andpowers are often defined in law.In these circumstances, agenciescan find it difficult to hand overcontrol to a self-organised institution such as the LCP.Groups such as the LCP need tobe aware of the power relationships that exist, and to berealistic about the scale and paceof change that is possible.

• Groups such as the LCP need todevelop a sophisticated understanding of the institutional landscape in which they are operating, so that recommendations for changes inpolicy can be ‘packaged’ andaimed at the most appropriateorganisational level or group.

• Informal relationships are vitallyimportant. Mutual trust and respect take time to develop.

Blue-green algae and

the LCP: conclusions

Understanding phosphorus flows

From previous research it was already known that phosphorusreaching the water of Loweswater is the main chemical nutrient that’feeds’ or ‘limits’ the potentiallytoxic algal blooms in the lake. However, the LCP has clarifiedsome important aspects of thephosphorus-input issue:• the major land-use in

Loweswater, the farming of livestock, has had an impact onthe ecology of the catchment dueto the release of phosphorus intosoil and soil water. This phosphorus eventually finds itsway into the lake (see Winchesterand Bennion’s study andMaberly’s study, p. 16 and 17);

• there is therefore a real trade-offbetween maximising farm

productivity and sustaining farmlivelihoods on the one-hand, andthe ecology of Loweswater on theother;

• farming in upland environmentslike Loweswater operates at verysmall economic margins and sochanging land-use practices inorder to significantly reducephosphorus flows in the catchment is very challenging;

• the amount of phosphorus reaching the lake from domesticwaste waters and sewage hasbeen estimated. Best practice inlooking after/emptying septictanks, and in disposing ofsludges out-of-catchment couldreduce this amount (see Webb’sstudy, p. 15);

• there may be a potential benefitin considering changes to floodplain management or the fencing around parts of becks toreduce soil erosion intoLoweswater (see Haycock’sstudy, p. 17);

The LCP as an example of a new kindof environmental governance was explored at a one-day workshop organized by the LCP on the 3rd ofDecember 2010 in Penrith. Variousagency representatives were invitedas key speakers and together we explored how the Loweswater CareProject experience squares up withrecent developments in ‘official’thinking about environmental governance and participatory action,and what the most important insightsare that the LCP can pass on to agencies. Above: Dr. Stuart

Burgess addressingthe PenrithConference.

Above: Discussions at the PenrithConference


• recycling of phosphorus in lakesediments at the bottom ofLoweswater will mean it maytake time to show the beneficialeffects of attempts to reducephosphorus input into the lake;

• slurry tanks may also be an important source of phosphorusleakage to the lake and should beconsidered in future research.

Creating a new forum

The Loweswater Care Project valuedthe views and experiences of scientists, agency representatives,and the general public in equalmeasure. It encouraged everyonewho wished to do so to become involved in the research process andto contribute to discussions and policy-related activities. It fosteredsocial learning and helped build confidence among the 25-35 participants who regularly attendedits meetings. Important insightswere gained into the complexities of

pollution problems and the ways inwhich the group might address them.

The agenda for the LCP was drivenfrom within the group itself andfacilitated by researchers from Lancaster University and CEH. Debates could get very heated, andbecause of their purposefully openand questioning nature, meetingscould appear as too wide-rangingand not focussed enough. And yet, it soon became apparent that concerns held by people within theLCP went way beyond the lake: theyextended, for example, to questionsencompassing the future of the community and the future of farming. The LCP began, after sometime, to be comfortable in makingbroad connections through its owndiscussions and preoccupations.

Gradually as we all became more familiar with a very open style ofworking together, some very productive things began to happen.

One of these was that relations between Loweswater’s farmers andthe National Trust began notably toimprove. These two groups decidedto collaborate on the management ofthe main watercourses leading in and out of Loweswater. At subsequent meetings, this was seenas a major achievement of the LCP.

Bringing the public, scientists, andagencies together in such novelways, the LCP attracted attention regionally and nationally, and webegan to liaise with other community-driven groups. LCP representatives gave evidence to theGovernment’s Uplands Inquiry, andto the EA’s consultation on the EUWater Framework Directive. Following the Penrith conferencediscussed above, Dr Doug Wilson ofthe Environment Agency wrote of theLCP: “I think the work at Loweswateris probably one of the best examplesof participation addressing an environmental issue that I've seen.”

Postscript

Christine and I moved to theLoweswater valley more than 16years ago. It is an immense privilegeto live here with the constant spiritual uplift and physical challenges of the lakes and fells. No less a joy is being part of thelocal community, although this is complicated for us by having frequently to go to London for attendance at the House of Lords.

There are, however, huge challenges: the age balance of thecommunity; the growing numbers of“offcomers” like us as against thedeclining number of local farmersand children; the high cost of

housing; the threats to the hill farming which has been such a vitalpart of the character of the valley;the desire to enable more visitors toenjoy the setting and yet the importance of preserving the tranquility and seclusion whichmake it special; combining the responsibility of being "trustees" ofone of the finest National Parks andpreserving its unique characterwhile meeting the changing economic and social needs of aliving community; the call to develop a sense of stewardship.

Great appreciation is due to all thosewho have actively participated in theLoweswater Care Project. It hasbeen an imaginative example of a

local community coming togetherwith academics and professionalsfrom relevant agencies to face up tothe challenges, identify possibleresponses and prioritise targets foraction. The test, of course, willbe what results from it all and thecommitment of the Loweswatercommunity to turn analysis in to action. It is good to know that thereis determination to maintain theuseful networks which the projectdeveloped. As the century movesforward there will be new imperatives.”

Frank JuddLord Judd is President of Friends of the

Lake District and a Vice President of the

Campaign for National Parks.

www.lancs.ac.uk/fass/projects/loweswater

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Documents

Dealing with Environmental Challenges Collectively: The Lo e a e … · This booklet is dedicated to the memory of Danny Leck This publication was produced by Loweswater Care Project