LORTON Parish Council have celebrated the opening of two new interpretation boards in Lorton.
The boards are part of a project to record the natural, built and social history of the village. Councillors, parishioners, friends and guests gathered on Friday 17 May for the celebration.
The parish council said: "The original inspiration for the project was a desire to record the abundant wildlife of our community, and this grew into the current project. A precursor to this was the planting of the verges in recent years with native wildflowers, and the adoption of a different mowing regime to encourage these flowers."
The history board describes some of the history of Lorton, with notes on some key buildings in the village including the past occupants of them.
There is also a history trail around the village, with a booklet available from the village shop and a QR code on the board links to a downloadable version.
The project has also included improvements to some of the village infrastructure, with new gates on two of the footpaths and a new bench.
The parish council said: "The natural history board celebrates the incredible variety of wildlife in Lorton – such as spotted flycatchers, red squirrels and wildflowers such as the grass-of-Parnassus. In the scheme of things, Lorton has remained pretty unspoilt over the centuries, and retains some good tracts of habitat. The wildlife is special, and if cherished and protected it can be here for generations to enjoy in the future."
There is another QR code on the wildlife panel which provides links to all the different groups and activities that are supporting wildlife in the area, hosted on the Melbreak Communities Site.
The project has also included peat-free compost and pollinator-friendly plants for the planters around the village, and new signs for the wildflower verges.
The Parish Council gave thanks to councillors, Tanya St Pierre and Pam Jaques for leading on this project. Historian Derek Denman, artist Chrissie Baker; and photographers John and Rosamund MacFarlane, Stuart Medland, and David Stephenson were all thanked.
Plain Creative who were the designers were thanked and support from Cumbria Wildlife Trust, Wilder Cumbria, Richard Easton and The Melbreak Communities were also credited.
The project has been supported by grant funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Cumbria County Council, without which it would not have been possible.
The history board is on the wall of the Yew Tree Hall in High Lorton, whilst the natural history board is next to the bus stop in Low Lorton.
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