Interview with Mike Stringer, BOOM volunteer
As a local to the area, Mike has always noticed nature around him, but BOOM has helped him take a closer look and learn more about wildlife and the natural world. He is keen to use this to support other in their mental health recovery.
Interviewed by Nigel Thompson.
Back On Our Map was a pioneering project supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and hosted by the University of Cumbria. The project worked with communities to reintroduce a suite of locally threatened or extinct species to South Cumbria. Back on Our Map (BOOM) aimed to re-engage communities in South Cumbria with their natural environment, by restoring the landscape and reintroducing and reinforcing locally threatened or extinct native species. National Lottery players supported the £2m project, alongside a number of other public, private and charitable sector organisations. Led by the University of Cumbria, BOOM worked closely with Morecambe Bay Partnership, and other partners including the Cumbria Wildlife Trust, Natural England and Forestry England. The project aimed to:
- Build healthy, resilient, empowered communities by providing an exciting range of reintroduction-based social activities and training events.
- Cover an area of 600km2, extending along the lowlands of Morecambe Bay from Barrow-in-Furness in the west to Arnside and Silverdale in the east and Grizedale Forest in the north.
- Restore habitat and reintroduce species across a network of protected areas including Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), National Nature Reserves (NNRs) and Arnside and Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
- Be a multi-species, landscape-scale project, maximising the opportunities for community engagement, restoring and connecting whole ecosystems to reverse the decline in biodiversity.
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