How nurturing nature brings many benefits for business

His interest in botany – he was one of the last to study the subject now known as plant ecology at Imperial College, London – is evident. His office has a picture of a red squirrel above his desk (it was there when he started his job as CEO of the Trust five years ago) and one of his own photographs of a hay meadow. Photography and Pennine meadows are two of his passions.

The Trust – set up in 1962 by local naturalists as a registered charity but also a business – looks after 10,000 acres of nature reserves, employs more than 85 staff at its offices in Plumgarths, near Kendal, one in Carlisle and another at a smaller satellite office in Barrow; has 1,400 volunteers and an income in excess of £4.5m. Its core funding comes from memberships, donations and legacies and that income is used to generate projects and bring in other funding from, among others, the government, National Lottery, landowners and industry.

“There are lots of different ways we work with businesses and support businesses. It’s all about the same objective. As a charity our objective is to make Cumbria a richer place for wildlife and a better environment, but also to engage people in its care and stewardship. Businesses are a key part in that. Businesses need the environment, clean water, fresh air, food, and we know that £2 or £3 billion worth of Cumbria’s net value is generated from tourism and obviously the visitors are coming to see this fabulous environment,” he says.

“Many businesses see the value in looking after that environment and investing in the natural capital because that’s drawing in the visitors. Everything is related and intertwined.  The relationship between business and nature is really important and we have some fantastic working relationships with businesses we really value,” he says.

They work with about 100 businesses every year, providing work days and team building sessions (Siemens Energy and O’Neil Architects are among two which took part in wellbeing days recently) to restoring local environments. “We work with a lot of businesses and corporates and help them get out into nature, it’s great for team building and morale of staff, for their health and to feel really valued.”

They also have a couple of dozen business members; work in collaboration with large firms on particular projects – recently they have done a lot of work restoring peatlands in collaboration with many businesses including United Utilities to help them work towards achieving net zero.

“Much of the focus has been on technology and reducing emissions, quite rightly. But we in Cumbria believe that we will only get so far and that the natural environment has a huge role to play. We can work with natural processes and we can naturally store carbon and protect it. The peat bogs in Cumbria cover 35,000 to 40,000 hectares so there are hundreds if not millions of tonnes of carbon buried in our peat bogs and it’s vital we don’t allow that to erode and to dissipate into the atmosphere. So we are investing large sums of money, mostly from the government but also businesses to repair and restore them,” he says.

They are also working with four house builders looking at issues of water pollution, particularly trying to find solutions to the high levels of phosphate in the River Eden. Under the government’s ‘nutrient neutrality’ no more house building will take place until the levels are lowered so they are working with developers and other partners including Natural England to create wetlands in the valley which then capture the phosphates. “Basically it’s about finding natural solutions to problems in society,” he says.  “There are lots of exciting things potentially happening, we are looking to acquire land in the Eden Valley to create wetlands in partnership with developers to release land for housing.

“I’ve always been a passionate environmentalist but also about how people have created landscapes and the history of landscapes. The importance of nature in its own right but also how it impacts on people and wellbeing. If we look after nature it will sustain us and look after us and our needs.  That’s becoming ever more apparent with the climate crisis and wildlife emergency,” he says.

He puts his love of the natural world down to his childhood. Brought up in North Yorkshire, he says: “I was part of a generation when we would be left to play and get up to our own devices for the day. Always being out and about, climbing trees, long summers. I remember as an eight-year-old seeing glow worms for the first time… and being absolutely mesmerised and I have been captured by the environment and wildlife ever since. It’s endlessly fascinating and there’s always something new to learn. I need contact with the natural environment to stay sane and manage stresses and strains of everyday life.”

After getting his degree he spent 20 years working for the National Trust as an upland land and general manager on large estates in Northumberland and the Peak District and helped establish the New Forest National Park. In 2010 he became chief executive of Warwickshire Wildlife Trust and then worked at a national level for the 37 wildlife trusts as director for England.

He says there are always new ways to form collaborations and partnerships. One example is a joint project with farmers and the Woodland Trust to plant more trees in the Coniston area. In a new initiative, the Trust has loaned the group £50,000 to get the work done, which will be paid back when they receive the grant over the next few years. “We were pleased to do it, our role is about facilitating good outcomes,” Stephen says, adding that they would be happy to loan money to other groups if necessary.

They have also just completed a project on pollinators – Get Cumbria Buzzing – to restore wild flowers on road verges in the north west of Cumbria at about 130 sites. “We’ve juggled funds from our members, the National Lottery, National Highways and a load of local organisations and businesses including the old Cumbria County Council… that was a £2-£3m project juggling funding from lots of different sources. It was a classic example of how we work.”

Alongside his job as CEO of Cumbria Wildlife Trust he is also a member of Carlisle Natural History Society; a trustee of the Red Squirrel Survival Trust; chair of the UK Red Squirrel Conservation Group; vice-chair of the North Pennine AONB and chairs its Farming in Protected Landscapes Grants Panel. He is also a walker, photographer, proud grandfather of two grandsons and uses his spare time to learn more about natural history in Cumbria and further afield. He has recently attended a Bramble identification course. “There are 450 to 500 species of bramble in the UK, difficult to identify. I was trying to get my head around that,” he says. “I have a particular love of northern Dales hay meadows so I have been trying to see lots of examples and the amazing Pennine flora we get is absolutely amazing.”

He has written chapters on peatland restoration and upland footpath repair for academic books. “Makes me sound really interesting doesn’t it?” he laughs. He has an MSc in countryside management and says a doctorate in his retirement  – he is 61 – may be a possibility. It would possibly be focussed on carnivorous plants, which he collects.

He likes to grow things ‘in an amateurish way’ and says he has turned the lawn at his home near Carlisle into a hay meadow – much to his partner’s ‘concern’. He also has an interest in bats and for years was a licensed bat worker.

These days though his role is more about collaboration and long-term strategy than being hands-on. “I am passionate about seeing people flourish and produce really exciting outcomes. We are lucky we have a dedicated, enthusiastic expert team here.

“Over the years we have acquired lots of technological expertise but the key challenge is how do we scale up and do more? We have a fantastic portfolio of nature reserves and wonderful projects but we still have a big steep curve if we are to halt the wildlife crisis, reverse it and tackle climate change.

“The climate is changing, the things we are used to will not be sustainable in the future. It’s about how do we adapt and how do local communities and businesses adapt? The extreme example was Storm Desmond; we are already seeing an increase in the number of wildfires in the county; we are seeing changes in visitor patterns and distributions… the big challenge for us is how do we continue to grow and develop. The urgency is ever increasing, we need to crack on with it.

“Sometimes businesses see wildlife as a barrier or a problem. I passionately believe it isn’t and we are keen to find solutions. We comment on lots of planning applications, and it’s very, very rarely that it’s difficult to see a solution. (One of those rarities has occurred recently as the Trust has ‘strongly objected’ to a project for 450 lodges at Roanhead Farm near Askam). 99.99 per cent of the time business can benefit from wildlife and wildlife and benefit from business. For us it’s about mediating solutions for everyone’s benefit.”

BUSINESS & NATURE WORKING HAND IN HAND

As part of the national Peatland Code, the Trust is currently putting together a green financing package across Cumbria. They are looking to invest up to £40m in restoring peatlands; so far they have invested about £4m.

The Trust has funding from Aviva to plant more temperate rainforests in Borrowdale to combat carbon emissions.

They are about to launch a £400,000 project in Workington and Whitehaven – funded by Sellafield – working with local communities to engage them with nature.

 A £400,000 scheme is set to start with United Utilities to ‘rewiggle’ Scandal Beck and they have also been closely involved in Kendal Flood Scheme.

They are working with farmers and landowners to plant more grasslands and meadows (they plant about 150 acres a year) more trees and find solutions to improve and enhance the quality of the water in the Cumbrian landscape

CWT is developing a nursery near Carlisle. This year they are growing 80,000 plants to plant in meadows and other projects. In partnership with Susan’s Farm they have a small team growing plants and there are plans to expand. 

TicketTailor is funding peat restoration, particularly at Witherslack Mosses, with donations from ticket sales.

Lakeland in Windermere is donating to support hay meadow restoration and is also a business member.

World of Beatrix Potter Attraction is funding tree planting at Eycott Hill Nature Reserve from ticket sales.

Fibrus broadband is contracting the Trust to carry out pollinator habitat restoration and community work.