Haweswater.
Haweswater is an area of uplands in the Lake District National Park. It is owned by United Utilities who collect water from its catchment to provide drinking water for people in the north west of England. United Utilities have management agreements with the RSPB to manage large parts of their landholdings in this area.
I first discovered Haweswater with my parents during family holidays, drawn there by the presence of a breeding pair of Golden Eagles in Riggendale Valley. I returned there as a volunteer in my mid-twenties during a period of my life in which I was lost, professionally and emotionally. Haweswater grounded me, healed me and gave me direction. It was here that I decided to embark upon a career in conservation, and it was here that, 3 years later I got my first job in conservation. I even moved there to live for a period of time. I have strong emotional ties to this area and care greatly for it.
In recent years the RSPB have taken on more direct management of land within the area, that of Naddle Farm. Initial work undertaken by them includes peatland restoration, river re-naturalisation and hay meadow creation. Moving towards a system of management in which natural processes are allowed to dominate, stocking numbers are being reduced and trees planted. This is quite controversial with some members of the farming community and the RSPB have been met with some hostility. Despite this their staff, some of whom have been working in the area for decades, feel passionately about their land holdings.
I would like to make a film about Haweswater. I have easy access to the landholdings and I know the land well. I understand the history of the site and know what the RSPB have done there in recent years.
There are two types (ideas) of films that I think I could make
- A character led film, interviewing the people who manage the land in this part of the lakes, what drives them and what they are trying to achieve.
- A political led film – promoting my idea of rewilding which is being undertaken at Haweswater, low stocking levels, natural processes dominating.
It could be a mix between these. I could be a part of the film, using my history with the area to form part of the narrative and/or close friends I have there could be the ‘face’ of the film. Undecided.
Film making for nature 