Red squirrel © Andy Naylor
Donate to help Smardale Nature Reserve
Your donation will help improve Smardale Nature Reserve to make it both a haven for wildlife and also give the access needed for people.Cumbria Wildlife Trust
On such a long linear reserve, where bridges have been removed and railway banking has collapsed, there is much to do to reinstate the access.
Smardale is also one of our most easily accessible nature reserves as it has a wheelchair accessible path along its length.
This nature reserve supports an important population of red squirrels – visit and you might spot them scurrying up a tree. So, of course, this gem of a nature reserve attracts thousands of visitors each year.
With the help of generous donations we have already created a new parking area and a long length of boardwalk to gives access from Smardale onto the land newly extending the nature reserve. This means you can easily access the new section of the nature reserve and see the impressive wildlife and areas of geological interest.
But there is still much more to do. We plan to put in place new information panels sharing with you more about this surprisingly different area of the nature reserve, along with a red squirrel feeding station. The feeding station will provide specialist food for these marvellous creatures and will give you a place to more easily spot them.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful to share the sight of these much-loved red squirrels with everyone, even those who can’t visit Smardale in person? By installing a web cam we can do just this. A web cam will feed live images to our website meaning you can watch from the comfort of your home (or your smart device).
We would also like to create family trails to encourage our younger generations to explore this wildlife rich area and to instil a passion for nature. Part of this will be to provide backpacks for families to borrow – these will be packed with everything needed to go adventuring and become a wildlife explorer for the day.