A South Cumbrian wetland is celebrating its 10th anniversary.
The 94-acre site, at Park End Moss, near Kendal was once an area of low quality farmland.
Owned by the National Trust, the site – around the size of 71 football pitches – is now a rich and diverse habitat for birds and other wildlife and an important place for people to be in nature.
Over the last decade, the National Trust has partnered with the RSPB, the Morecambe Bay Local Nature Partnership, local schools and the community to create and maintain the haven for nature.
Work to turn the flat land into a wetland included digging deep channels and shallow depressions and installing three sluices to control the flow of water.
Around 10,000 reed plugs were planted to create a mature reedbed among areas of rush, grassland and fenland meadows.
National Trust ranger Rob Pocklington has been involved from the start. In that time he has seen the reedbed expand and provide a home for lots more nature.
Rob said that included classic reedbed birds such as the bittern, marsh harrier and the reed warbler and at least 12 species of dragonfly and damselfly.
Seed spreading early on in the project means plants like bird’s eye primrose and black bog rush are present in the wetland’s fen area.
A keen birder, Rob said his top five highlights over the last 10 years are finding the first bittern in 2015, followed by six more and hearing them booming every year since 2021. He was also pleased to see a pair of marsh harriers breed this year, making Park End Moss one of only three places in Cumbria that this has ever occurred.
Rob added: “Another of my top five is the reed warbler, not seen in the valley before the wetland was created. We have about 10 pairs visiting each summer. We also have big numbers of snipe during the autumn with up to a 100 counted from the hide in 2024.
“The last of my top five is the Cetti’s warbler, probably from Leighton Moss, and first spotted in 2022, we now have two breeding pairs.”
An important part of managing the wetland is the work done by Dexter cows belonging to the trust’s contract grazier.
Rob said: “The Dexter cows are ideal. They are a small, hardy breed, that does well on poor quality pasture. They prevent the flowers and bird habitats from becoming swamped with overgrown coarse vegetation.
“The grazier and I work out where the cows can graze. We use a special collar that’s linked to an app, where we create a boundary on a map, that’s an invisible fence to the cows.
“After some training they get used to a beep and a vibration from their collar that lets them know to move away from the boundary.
“It means we can target exact grazing areas. Throughout the spring and summer the cows are kept out of the reed bed so species such as reed warbler can breed. By early autumn the cows go back into the reedbed to graze and open up areas for snipe and feeding ducks.”
Another critical part of managing the wetland is the work done by volunteers.
Some, like local Clare McEntegart remember helping to create it.
She said: “An early task was to carry very heavy fence posts across the bumpy, boggy ground, which is how we kept cattle out then. I also remember planting the reed plugs, discovering tiny fish in the puddles and learning how different species need different water levels.
“Deeper to avoid being frozen in winter and shallower for creatures that have to climb out easily. Ten years on, our task is now to help manage the reed beds. Some birds need open areas and others need dense vegetation.
“It’s very rewarding being out here – from hearing the bittern, seeing an otter or a barn owl and experiencing a murmuration of starlings.”
Dan Taylor, general manager at the National Trust in South East Cumbria and Morecambe Bay, said: “It’s part of our low carbon, nature-friendly vision for Sizergh and our response to the climate and nature crises.
“At Park End Moss, thanks to everyone coming together solid foundations are in place to help reverse the decline in our wildlife and to give people a place to connect with nature.”
Plans to mark the 10-year anniversary of the creation of Park End Moss wetland include partner, volunteer and community celebrations this month.
