Lake District Foundation

It's been more than 70 years since the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act was passed – and to celebrate everything that has been achieved here in The Lake District National Park to date, an exciting rallying cry continues to be made to help fund its maintenance over the next 70 years and beyond.

National Parks like The Lake District are free to enjoy but not free to maintain. The vital work done here to care for the UNESCO World Heritage Site’s landscape is only achievable thanks to the generosity of our visitors.

To date, the Lake District Foundation has generated more than £2.5million for local conservation projects through its innovative Visitor Giving schemes.

Countless conservation groups work constantly to care for The Lake District National Park, with recent examples of projects including repairing pathways on England’s highest mountain, Scafell Pike – endorsed by mountaineer, Sir Chris Bonington himself.

Other projects funded by visitors via The Lake District Foundation include the planting of 400 protected native trees on a carefully selected area of Mardale Common; and a fundraising campaign to support the reconnection of the Keswick to Threlkeld Railway Path which was washed away by Storm Desmond in 2015.

Further recently funded projects include an ‘Adopt a Beck’ project; reviewing and identifying priorities and strategies for caring for the county’s wildlife; increasing the populations of threatened and restricted numbers of plant species on the crags of the Helvellyn range.

*

Cumbria Tourism – the team behind the Visit Lake District website, the Lake District Foundation and the Lake District National Park are together on a mission to embrace new technology to make the giving process for our valued visitors simpler and more secure than ever before.

You can donate online via the Lake District Foundation’s website here, or during a visit when you spot our coin and note donation points. There are also a series of contactless donation points, making donating simple thanks to a quick swipe of your credit or debit card.

With the support of Cumbria Tourism and The Lake District National Park, The Lake District Foundation is now able to reach out further than ever to make sure the vital stream of income continues. Every donation is valued, no matter how big or small. Read more here.

We hope this technology will also be rolled-out at other locations which attract people in the coming months, who genuinely care about the future of this beautiful part of the world.

The fact is, the natural beauty we enjoy in The Lake District, Cumbria, can only take care of itself to a certain point. Take a look around during your visit and you’ll see stunning scenery, which quite rightly resulted in The Lake District being awarded World Heritage status by UNESCO in the summer of 2017. It takes hard work and commitment to look after the national park and together, we want to give our visitors the opportunity to contribute towards it, if they wish.

It’s all part of the ‘Rethinking Parks’ programme by NESTA, a global innovation foundation which supports new ideas to tackle 21st century challenges. Positive feedback from a survey we launched in 2018 has made it clearer than ever that people who love the Lake District want to help us look after it.

The quick, simple and convenient process of donating is our way of thanking those who want to help. It only takes a small donation to make a big difference, and you can look at the Lake District’s natural environment with great satisfaction - knowing that your generosity has helped to form part of the national park’s history and legacy for generations to come.

With the support of its partners the Lake District National Park and Cumbria Tourism, the LDF’s latest inspirational awareness campaign is part of the ‘Rethinking Parks’ programme by NESTA, a global innovation foundation which supports new ideas to tackle 21st century challenges.

Projects set up to care for The Lake District, Cumbria, will also soon begin to feel the benefits of further visitor giving thanks to awareness raised via an “Instamap”, which will highlight just some of the county’s most picturesque locations. All of the planned listed beauty-spots will be accessible by sustainable transport methods and it’s hoped the scheme will become a big-hit with users of the social media platform, Instagram. More information to follow.

In the meantime, discover more about how new technology is being used to raise vital funds to help care for The Lake District National Park, here.