The Royal Countryside Fund and The National Lottery Community Fund support 13 Cumbrian rural organisations with £308,000 in funding

The funding was awarded in partnership with The National Lottery Community Fund, which distributes over £600m a year to communities across the UK.

This latest funding is part of the RCF’s first county-based programme, targeting rural organisations in Cumbria and Northumberland which have the potential to ‘power up, not prop up’ their communities.

Keith Halstead, Executive Director, RCF, said: “Our new funding approach in Cumbria aims to help people who have come together to act on what really matters most to them. We received so many strong funding applications from rural organisations across Cumbria and we’re all very excited to work closely with these thirteen organisations to see how they put their collective ideas in place to shape the future of their local communities”.

“We’re incredibly grateful to The National Lottery Community Fund for their support in this new partnership and we want to extend our thanks to National Lottery players, for helping to fund these amazing community-led projects.”

Duncan Nicholson, Regional Head of Funding for North East & Cumbria at The National Lottery Community Fund, said: “We are very proud to be working in partnership with the Royal Countryside Fund to support these incredible organisations in Cumbria to improve lives and increase resilience in their local communities. We look forward to seeing the environmental, social and economic impact of these projects, as supporting communities to be more sustainable is one of our key missions at The National Lottery Community Fund.”

The 13 Cumbrian organisations funded through this programme are :

• Cumbria Biodiversity Data Centre, which brings together, analyses and shares information on Cumbria’s natural history, wildlife sites and habitats for education, has been awarded £23,250. This funding will allow the organisation to develop a package of training opportunities for community groups to develop the expertise needed to provide ecological services to their local community. Courses will be run in the local community with the aim of not only upskilling the community to carry out the work they would like to deliver in their community but also develop a ‘train the trainer’ approach to allow the communities in receipt of training to then provide training opportunities and information exchange with other communities.
• Another Way, an environmental education charity, has been awarded £30,000 to support its ‘Power of 10’ movement, which provides young people and communities with a platform that promotes climate education, action, and collaboration. The charity aims to support 1,000 young people in Cumbria, training them to create projects that will benefit 10,000 people within Cumbria.
• Alston Moor Partnership Ltd, a community partnership which represents the three wards of Alston Moor, has been awarded £28,875 by the RCF to fund a Volunteer Co-ordinator position. This Co-ordinator will liaise with many local groups and organisations, identifying their specific needs in the recruitment of further general and specialised volunteers, and, through a range of community contacts, come to understand what is preventing new volunteers coming forward and what might be done to make such volunteering more possible and enthusiastically embraced.
• Barton and Pooley Bridge Community Fund has been awarded £29,600 to develop a sustainable and integrated transport system for the Ullswater valley for the benefit of residents, local businesses and visitors.
• Bothel Village Hall has been awarded £6,000 to install electricity island infrastructure to create an emergency hub for the community.
• Carlisle Radio FM Limited has been awarded £30,000 to take broadcasting out of the studio and into rural towns, offering rural residents a platform, while also fostering stronger community bonds. They will also hold workshops for rural communities focused on broadcasting, media production, and digital skills.
• Grange over Sands Foodshare has been awarded £22,430 to expand its ‘food waste spiral’ approach, addressing food insecurity, climate change, and build community bonds in South Cumbria.
• Grizedale Arts has been awarded £30,000 to purchase equipment to increase the offering of The Farmers Arms community hub, help to boost the local circular economy and increase community cohesion.
• Orton Fells Farm Cluster CIC has been awarded £13,615 to work with Orton Wildlife and Landscapes Community Group to improve local wildflower verges, host school visits and bring together the local community with the farming community, increasing local knowledge and interest in farming and food production.
• Skelton Toppin Memorial Hall has been awarded £5,000 to explore the potential to develop the hall as an emergency resilience centre through a feasibility study.
• VistaVeg Ltd has been awarded £29,960 to establish a new market garden in a rural community, deliver training for new entrant growers, organise community open days and school visits.
• Watchtree Nature Reserve Ltd has been awarded £30,000 to fund a new role, connecting visitors with habitat management and continuing to develop the reserve for the benefit of nature and the community.
• West Lakeland Farmer Led Nature Recovery CIC has been awarded £29,988 to train four young people from the local area to become environmental land management advisors to farmers.

To date, the RCF has invested more than £12 million in over 500 rural community-led projects.