The new Build Our Boundaries team has been hard at work in the Borrowdale Valley, looking after the cultural landscape of the Lake District as they survey and secure boundaries on land cared for by the National Trust.

Strong, well-maintained boundaries help to protect farmers’ livelihoods by keeping livestock safe and are vital to conservation work as they protect woodlands and rainforest from overgrazing, allowing saplings and undergrowth to thrive while supporting natural regeneration. Rich and healthy woodlands are essential in the fight against climate change as they provide carbon storage and natural flood management, while also providing a haven for our much-loved wildlife and a range of benefits to our health and wellbeing.

The team are making good progress in the valley, having already made Johnny’s Wood and Thornythwaite more or less stock proof. They have also enjoyed building positive relationships with National Trust farm tenants as they work to maintain livestock enclosures, with farmers granting access to the land and on occasion alerting the team of wall gaps and kindly assisting in the transportation of heavy materials.

Boundaries can be damaged by a range of factors including livestock, deer, weather, trees and sometimes, people. The solution depends on the situation on site, meaning every day is different for the team and an opportunity for problem solving and learning.

It is important that boundaries not only perform well but are also in keeping with this special part of the world. While repairing dry stone walls, the team make use of their particular skillset when handling the challenging Borrowdale stones, which are mostly rounded and irregular in shape, carefully preserving moss growth where possible. The same level of care is shown when replacing damaged fence posts, with the team using sustainable, UK grown, untreated hardwood posts such as native chestnut to ensure that they last longer without the use of harmful chemical treatments.

Will Veitch, ranger for the National Trust says: ‘Maintaining secure boundaries is key to protecting the woodlands in our care and improving the biodiversity and rare ecosystems they contain. For example, the internationally important Atlantic oak woods (the ‘Borrowdale rainforest’) and their unique populations of lichens, bryophytes, and mosses. It will also help to maintain relationships with tenants and neighbouring landowners, ensuring that their stock is kept safe. Maintenance of the old stone walls will help to conserve the heritage of the agricultural landscape of the valleys whilst also providing a secure and long lasting boundary.

We aim to achieve this through a system of surveying and maintenance, working together with tenants and neighbouring landowners to ensure the woodlands are kept free from stock and in the best possible condition.

Although there is a lot to do, we have a strong team and with the help of volunteers and local contractors, we will carry out the work required to protect and improve these important habitats now and for the future.’

Whether it is mending dry stone walls and fences, maintaining and adding hedgerows, or fixing hecks and hanging gates, looking after boundaries takes a lot of hard work and expertise, but everyone can play a part by sticking to paths, leaving gates as they found them and following the Countryside Code.

With funding for the project coming from the National Trust’s local operating income, which includes income from regional hydro projects, membership recruitment and local donations, it shows what can be achieved with the help of supporters, visitors, and the local community, as the Trust works to look after this precious landscape for everyone, for ever.

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