Ribble Catchment Lake Surveying Challenge

Help us assess the naturalness of the Ribble catchments lakes.

Currently, the data sets recording and mapping priority habitats are partially complete. There is a need to fill in the gaps so we can protect and/or restore our freshwater habitat resource. Naturally functioning freshwater habitats provide a whole host of benefits for people and wildlife, including removing carbon from the atmosphere, boosting the biodiversity of the area, helping to reduce the risk of flooding, and providing enjoyable places to visit.

Let’s see how many lakes in the Ribble catchment we can assess to help not just Ribble Rivers Trust direct their conservation efforts, but also organisations such as Natural England, the Environment Agency and planning authorities.

Here are the two steps:

  1. Submit your lake survey assessment via Cartographer https://login.cartographer.io
  2. Choose the lake name in the form (GB Lakes Inventory ID gives you the number to look for in the drop down) and click submit to log that you have surveyed it

Other things to note:

  • Multiple surveys are absolutely fine; the map just shows how much ground we’ve covered.
  • You can use the colour coded map to find out if the lake is publicly viewable.
  • Make sure you follow the Countryside Code and don’t trespass.
  • Let me know if you’ve found a lake on Cartographer that isn’t on my map.
  • Some lakes are missing (e.g. Brockholes); I’m afraid I can’t add them at the moment.
  • If you would like to survey a lake on private land, please contact Leanne and she can try and get you permission.
  • See the RRT Priority Habitat surveying handbook for everything you need to know about these surveys: ribbletrust.org.uk/Handbook-Habitat.pdf