Rusland Horizons was one of the first community-led schemes to receive Heritage Lottery funding. Key to its success was the partnership between the local community and representatives from agencies, coming together with a vision of how to support the wildlife and heritage of this quiet area of the Lake District National Park.
The following is a list of members of the Steering Committee, staff, project managers and coordinators, and an acknowledgement of the dedication and hard work of the many volunteers:
Community Members on the Steering Group
- Colin Barr (Chairman, Local Resident and Ecologist)
- Giles Wingate-Saul (Local Resident and Chairman of the Rusland Valley Community Trust)
- Vanessa Champion (Local Resident)
- Carole Dickinson (Local Farmer)
- Adam Crowe (Local Farmer and Environmental Consultant)
- Danielle Chalmers (Local Resident)
- Mike Thwaites (Local Resident and Master Builder)
- Edward Mills (Local Woodland Manager and Chartered Forester)
- Robert Henson (Local Resident and Historian)
- Richard Sanderson (Local Resident and Chair of the Leven Valley Local History Society)
Agency Representatives on the Steering Group
- Teresa Morris (Natural England)
- Tony Hill (Ranger, Lake District National Park Authrity (LDNPA))
- Mark Eccles (Head of Park Management, LDNPA - the 'Accountable Body')
- Steve Tatlock (Management Team Leader, LDNPA)
- James Anderson-Bickley (Advisor, Forestry Commission)
- Neville Elstone (Director, Cumbria Woodlands)
Staff
- Marian Jones (RH Project Manager, 2016-2018)
- John Dunbavin (RH Project Manager 2018-2019)
- Sharon Callaghan (Chief Administrator)
- Clare Looker (Assistant Administrator)
- Clare Dyson (Community Engagement Officer)
- Dougie Watson (Woodlands and Wildlife Officer)
- Claire Green (Skills and Training Coordinator to July 2017)
- Ray Millard (Apprentices Coordinator from July 2017)
Project Coordinators (Other than staff mentioned above)
- Sara Spicer ( LDNPA, Greenwood Trails)
- Rebecca Oaks (BHMAT, Coppicing Apprenticeships)
- Debs Muscat (Cumbria Biodiversity Centre - Mapping Wild Rusland)
- Christa Nelson (Cumbria Wildlife Trust, Hay Meadow Restoration)
- Graham Jackson-Pitt (Cumbria Wildlife Trust, Hedgerow surveys)
- Helen Rawlinson (Cumbria Wildlife Trust and local farmer, Hedgerow surveys)
- Hilary Smith (Butterfly Conservation)
- Bob Cartwright (Red Squirrel Conservation)
- Eleanor Kingston (LDNPA, Archaeology)
- Tim Fleming (Local film-maker, Oral Histories)
- Professor Angus Winchester (Historian, Mapped Histories)
- Mandy Lane (Local Resident, Mapped Histories)
Volunteers
So many volunteers participated in the Rusland Horizons Scheme that there are too many to list here. Suffice to say that without their hard work and enthusiasm, skills and dedication, the Scheme would not have been possible.