The team at Friends of the Lake District may be small, but our ambition is huge – that’s why volunteers are so important to what we do.

Last year alone, volunteers cleared 200 bags of litter, planted 500 metres of hedgerow and nurtured over 20,000 young trees. Without them, much of our work simply wouldn’t be possible.

From Keswick to Kendal, our weekly work parties care for over 1,500 acres of Cumbrian countryside. In 2022, volunteers gave up over 250 days of their time to plant trees, rebuild walls and survey rare and endangered wildlife so we can protect it.

Our wonderful volunteers donate thousands of hours of their time. However, running a volunteer programme isn’t free. We have to provide the equipment that volunteers need to carry out this critical work. And our specialist staff train volunteers in highly skilled tasks, such as dry stone walling.

We know volunteering has a huge impact. For every pound we spend on volunteer activities, the landscape receives double that in benefits. Can you help us continue to run these vital events by sending a gift today?

Launched in 2011, our well-loved Fell Care Day events have made a real difference to Lakeland landscapes. Over the years, volunteers have repaired or maintained 100km of upland footpath, rebuilt hundreds of drystone walls and collected thousands of bags of litter. We’d like to run more volunteering and engagement events like this in 2023.  

Our Great Landscapes Festival is a two-week celebration of the Lake District landscape. Last August, hundreds of people took part in a variety of events, from fell repairs to wildflower planting. This year, we want to do even more. New activities - from building hedgehog homes to removing plastic tree guards - will deliver even bigger benefits for nature.

By sending a gift today, you can help us build on our successes to date, invest in our volunteer development, and deliver even more activities to restore the landscape.

Thank you.

Read more about our volunteering and engagement events here