A grounded swift © Sue Kane
Meet the volunteer who's making swift progress in Penrith
Swifts – the arrow-shaped birds that scream through our skies in summer – spend life on the wing. That feeling of never touching the ground is familiar to Sue Rowlands, a volunteer swift champion who’s always on the go.
She’s got a real passion for swifts, and that’s what Wilder Cumbria is about – supporting people to make things happen with what they are most passionate about.
Cumbria Wildlife Trust’s Head of Community Development
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Get involvedWho is it?
Sue is the founder and treasurer of Penrith Swift Group, and can usually be found inspiring people in and around Penrith to take action for swifts, which migrate to the UK from Africa each spring. A book called Swifts and Us, by Sarah Gibson, ignited Sue’s love of these aerial acrobats.
“I don’t think I had noticed swifts so much before,” she said, “and after that I saw and heard them everywhere and I tuned into them. I wasn’t aware of anyone monitoring or supporting them locally.”
What did they want to achieve?
Swift numbers have declined by 60% in the last 25 years because of habitat loss and the huge decline in the insects they eat. They need all the help they can get, and that’s why Sue and other members of the small but dedicated team at Penrith Swift Group are working tirelessly to raise awareness and provide homes for them.
How did they do it?
Sue set up Penrith Swift Group in July 2022 after visiting Tanya and Edmund Hoare at Sedbergh Community Swifts. “I was so fascinated by their nesting colony,” she said. "They’ve got 34 pairs in their house.”
As well as organising talks, Sue has written articles for the local press, regularly takes grounded swifts to Kendal for rehabilitation, contacts builders and developers to see if they’ll put swift bricks in new builds or extensions, distributes nest boxes, and travels around the area talking to people at rural shows and in schools.
Tanya Hoare of Sedbergh Swift Community Group (left) & Susan Rowlands of Penrith Swift Group (right)
What help did our Community Team provide?
Sue had never set up a group before, and that’s where Cumbria Wildlife Trust was able to help. “It’s quite a steep learning curve,” she said. “I had to open a bank account, write a constitution, get a committee, fundraise… Cumbria Wildlife Trust initially helped by providing a venue for our meetings, and support and advice. Members come along and set up the projector, make the teas, put out the chairs… It would be impossible for me to do it all on my own. And they’ve helped with networking and meeting up with other volunteers to see what they’re doing.”
Susan Rowlands, founder & treasurer of Penrith Swift Group, & Jennifer Blain Bennett, chair of Penrith Swift Group, at Hesket Newmarket show
What was the outcome?
“It’s kind of taken over my life really” Sue admits. “I sometimes come home hoarse because I’ve been talking swift talk all day!”
Children at one of the local schools she’s worked with – Fellview Primary School in Caldbeck – were so enthusiastic, they created their own map of the migratory route swifts took from Africa to Cumbria. Sue then put them in touch with a school in Tanzania, at the other end of the journey.
Simon Whalley, Cumbria Wildlife Trust’s Head of Community Development, said: “Sue needed a little reassurance and encouragement that what she was proposing would be great and have a really positive impact. She’s got a real passion for swifts, and that’s what Wilder Cumbria is about – supporting people to make things happen with what they are most passionate about.”
Visit Penrith Swift Group's Facebook page for more from the group.