Mike Houston worked for the Friends as our lead officer for 17 years, from 1976 to 1993. In that time he presided over many campaign successes for the charity, including saving Ennerdale and Wastwater, from the environmental disaster of being dammed and their water used for drinking water and the nuclear power station. He was involved in many roads campaigns, such as banning heavy goods vehicles from using the A591, defeats for a major leisure complex in Bowness and he sat on 53 public enquiries during his tenure at the Friends. In the 70s and early 80s the Friends worked with Cumbria Wildlife Trust to make sure the Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981 included protection for limestone pavement.

Our woodland at Staveley, ‘Mike’s Wood’ was planted on fields near Staveley to celebrate his fantastic contribution to the charity in 1993. Thirty years later it's a thriving woodland. 

Here's an interview about his time with the Friends that we published in our members' magazine in 2014 for our 80th anniversary, (when Mike was also 80). 

Mike Houston - Celebrating 80 years interview (pdf)