Councillor Helen Wall
As lead member for wildlife, I have the perfect excuse to ask questions like 'Are we putting the right trees in the right places?', 'Are those seeds properly sourced British native wildflowers?', 'Do you know there are bee orchids where they want that car park?' and 'Can we bring red squirrels to Furness?'
Councillor Helen Wall
Councillor Helen Wall was nominated as 'a genuine and effective campaigning voice for wildlife – possibly the best in Cumbria politics'. She's a passionate nature lover who works to find solutions to important questions about how we coexist with and benefit nature across Cumbria.
Here's more about Helen in her own words:
'I cannot remember a time when I was not interested in flowers and birds and butterflies and loving the places where they were found – hedgerows, becks, sand dunes, woods. I didn’t grow up in a family that knew much about nature and the school curriculum doesn’t prioritise British wildlife – to my annoyance – so my learning was minimal.
In my 20s, I had seven years out of work and education to bring up three children, and this time was when I was able to concentrate on things that interested me, like wildlife and cookery. It felt like I had my brain to myself at last. It was a long, slow learning curve, but it makes me happy to know a wheatear or a painted lady or a flowering rush when I see one.
I’ve been a Barrow Borough councillor since 2011 and a Cumbria County councillor since 2013. I think every councillor in Barrow is now aware that our borough is surrounded by some of the most important vegetated shingle in Europe – I bang on about it so often!
On the borough council, I'm lead member for wildlife and heritage, and I chair the wildlife and heritage advisory committee. I also represent the borough at the Cumbria Local Nature Partnership board, a responsibility I take very seriously and am proud to take on.
As lead member for wildlife, I have the perfect excuse to ask questions like ’Are we putting the right trees in the right places?’, ‘Are those seeds properly sourced British native wildflowers?’, ‘Do you know there are bee orchids where they want that car park?’ and ‘Can we bring red squirrels to Furness?’
On the county council, I generally make a nuisance of myself by bringing nature into a great many of the discussions such as hedges and verges being managed for nature, children being within walking distance of a green space, the countryside helping mental health and will the work disturb the seals?
I believe passionately that time spent quietly walking by the sea, or listening to birds in a wood or watching a familiar hedgerow change with the seasons is wonderful for physical and mental health, and I try to promote that. I’m especially keen to ditch the image of slim, fit 30-somethings in £100 jackets and £150 boots as the only people who should be in the countryside. It’s for everyone!
I’ve also founded a group called Barrow’s Beautiful Places to promote the benefits of engaging with nature and heritage, and to counter some of Barrow’s negative press. Just before Covid happened, I was establishing an annual event in the town centre, like a fair, where people involved with beautiful places in Barrow set out a stall to encourage more visitors.
I couldn’t do what I do without Cumbria Wildlife Trust supporting and informing me. I have been a member for something-teen years; joining was what I did the first time in my life that I had £3 left at the end of the month after paying the bills. I joined because I am passionate about Cumbria, not just the Lake District, but the coast, the bays, the rivers, the limestone country, the habitats and what lives and grows there.
The future for councils and their involvement with nature and climate change is challenging and we have to get it right. Every council will need a Local Nature Recovery Strategy and it will be a big job to engage with people and persuade them that grass looking like Astroturf is not a good thing, while a scarlet pimpernel growing in a pavement crack can be the most beautiful thing you see that day.'