Back On Our Map is a pioneering project supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and hosted by the University of Cumbria. The project works with communities to reintroduce a suite of locally threatened or extinct species to South Cumbria.

Back on Our Map (BOOM) aims 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 support the £2m project, alongside a number of other public, private and charitable sector organisations. Led by the University of Cumbria, BOOM is working closely in partnership with Morecambe Bay Partnership, and lead partners including the Cumbria Wildlife Trust, Natural England and Forestry England. The project:

• Will help to build healthy, resilient, empowered communities by providing an exciting range of reintroduction-based social activities and training events.
• Covers 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.
  Restores habitat and reintroduces 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).
• Is a multi-species, landscape-scale project, maximising the opportunities for community engagement, restoring and connecting whole ecosystems to reverse the decline in biodiversity.

 

The Evaluator is delighted to be working with the BOOM project team to both measure and collate the impact on people, to carry out 1:1 interviews and surveys, attend events and design quizzes. We’ll be supporting training the team, having regular conversations and reflections, interviewing partners and reading notes collected throughout the project lifetime.

The information collected will be brought together for a final evaluation report in June 2023. You can find out more about the project here, including events and frequently asked questions.