Community and environmental projects in West Cumbria will receive more than £460,000 in additional funding through Sellafield Ltd’s Social Impact Multiplied (SiX) programme.
Sellafield Ltd first launched SiX in July 2020 and since then has supported the West Cumbria Rivers Trust with £229,000 of investment to support the “People on the Keekle” community engagement and environmental restoration project at Longlands Lake near Cleator Moor, West Cumbria.
The successful SiX project has provided plenty of volunteering opportunities for local people, with initiatives including the creation of outdoor educational facilities and workshops for children in the nearby forest, improving accessibility and wildlife habitats and stabilising the River Ehen.
Sellafield Ltd has rewarded the success of these initiatives with a new wave of funding worth £463,647 that will extend over the next three years.
This funding will support SiX in a wider range of environmental and community projects, including further improvements at Longlands Lake and new initiatives at Mirehouse Pond in Whitehaven and Dub Beck near Keekle.
Gary McKeating, Sellafield’s head of community and development, said: “One of our SiX objectives is ‘thriving communities’, which looks to address social and environmental issues in our communities, so it is great to see this project extended to some of our priority areas like Mirehouse, following successful results at Longlands Lake.
“We’ve also supported the four-year Wilder Walkmill project being delivered by West Cumbria Rivers Trust, which will deliver community engagement and habitat improvements to Moresby, near Whitehaven.
“I’m looking forward to seeing what both these projects deliver.”
Eirini Etoimou, Sellafield Ltd’s head of corporate sustainability and supply chain development, said: “This programme is sustainability in action. Sellafield is an inextricable member of the region, and this programme serves people’s well-being and the health of the environment.”
Mirehouse Pond will benefit from improvements to its public access and new seating areas, while Dub Beck will receive vital restoration work to its riverbank.
Photo credit: iStock
Video credit: Canva
