Local Recording Groups

Whether your passion lies with mosses or moths, there are formal and informal groups and societies that can help you learn more about the fascinating wildlife in Cumbria, as well as how to identify and record it. Local groups are a great way of learning more about wildlife!

Featured below is a selection of popular groups we work with in Cumbria. If you’re looking for something specific but struggling to find it, then feel free to contact us and we’ll give you a hand.

Many local groups contribute to the county’s annual natural history report, ‘Birds and Wildlife in Cumbria’ which is published by Cumbria Bird Club. CBDC supports ‘Birds and Wildlife in Cumbria’ by providing data to the authors of the publication’s various reports. Copies of the report are available from the Tullie House shop or from Cumbria Bird Club.

You’re always welcome to send records of any and all species to us directly, via our ‘Submit A Record’ page. If you send a record to anywhere else as well as CBDC, then please let us know so we can manage duplicate records.

If you know of a group or help run a group that isn’t featured on these pages or would like to update the information herein, please get in touch with us!

Natural History Societies

Ambleside Natural History Society

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/AmblesideNaturalHistorySociety/

Website
http://anhs.org.uk/wp/

Arnside Natural History Society

Website
http://www.arnsideanddistrictnhs.co.uk/

Carlisle Natural History Society

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/CarlisleNats/

Website
http://www.carlislenats.uk/

Twitter
https://twitter.com/CarlisleNats?lang=en-gb

Grange and District Natural History Society

Website

https://grangenats.uk/

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/groups/417932919289474


Keswick Natural History Society

Website 
http://www.keswicknathist.co.uk/

The 2024/5 Meeting programme is HERE.

Local Groups

Cumberland Bat Group

Website
https://www.bats.org.uk/support-bats/bat-groups/north-west-england

Facebook Group
https://www.facebook.com/cumberlandbatgroup/


South Cumberland Bat Group

Website
https://cumbriabats.wordpress.com/


Cumbria Amphibian and Reptile Group

Facebook Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/589703024785031/


Cumbria Bird Club

Website
https://www.cumbriabirdclub.org.uk/


Cumbria Birding Group

Facebook Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/cumbriabirding/


Cumbria Insects and Invertebrates

Facebook Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/948454538863929/


Cumbria Mammal Society

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/MammalSociety/


Cumbria Moth Group

Facebook Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1484989568463053/


Cumbria Botany

Website
http://www.cumbriabotany.co.uk/

Facebook Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/CumbriaBotanyGroup/


Cumbria Lichens and Cumbria Bryophytes

Website
https://cumbrialichensbryophytes.org.uk/

Facebook Lichen Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/cumbrialichens

Facebook Bryophyte Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/cumbriabryophytes


Cumbria Fungi Group

Facebook Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/336722100236838/


Cumbria Geoconservation

Facebook Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1900093153583144/

Website
https://www.cbdc.org.uk/cumbria_geoconservation


Cumberland Geological Society

Website
http://www.cumberland-geol-soc.org.uk/events/


Cumbria Wildlife Trust

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/cumbriawildlifetrust/

Website
https://www.cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk/

Twitter
https://twitter.com/cumbriawildlife?lang=en-gb


National Biodiversity Network – National Landscapes – 

Website
http://www.northpennines.org.uk/

Twitter
https://twitter.com/NorthPennAONB

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/NorthPenninesAONB/

Country-Wide Organisations

BSBI

Website
https://bsbi.org/

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/BSBI2011/

Twitter
https://twitter.com/BSBIbotany


British Trust for Ornithology

Website
https://www.bto.org/

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/The.BTO/

Twitter
https://twitter.com/_BTO?lang=en-gb


British Bryological Society

Website
http://www.britishbryologicalsociety.org.uk/

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/britishmoss


British Lichen Society

Website
https://www.britishlichensociety.org.uk/

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/BLSlichensF/


Moth Records

Facebook Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/RecordingMoths/


Butterfly conservation

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/savebutterflies/

Website
https://butterfly-conservation.org/


The British Mycological Society

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/groups/18843741618/

Website
https://www.britmycolsoc.org.uk/


The Fungus Conservation Trust

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/The-Fungus-Conservation-Trust-formerly-ABFG-194924697239188/

Website
http://www.abfg.org/


Amphibian and Reptile Conservation

Website
https://www.arc-trust.org/Pages/Contact.aspx

Twitter
https://twitter.com/ARC_Bytes


Plantlife

Website
http://www.plantlife.org.uk/uk

Twitter
https://twitter.com/Love_plants

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/LovePlantlife/


Field Studies Council

Website
https://www.field-studies-council.org/

Twitter
https://twitter.com/FieldStudiesC

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/FieldStudiesC/


Biological Records Center

Website
http://www.brc.ac.uk/home

Cumbria Biodiversity Data Centre

The Cumbria Biodiversity Data Centre at Tullie House Museum, Carlisle keeps wildlife information for the county of Cumbria. Tullie House Museum, in its role as a local natural history museum, has collected and disseminated records of wildlife in Cumbria since its inception in 1893. From the early 1990s the Museum has developed a computerised database of species and habitat records in Cumbria and has taken the central role in providing a local biodiversity data service for the county. This role was restyled as Cumbria Biodiversity Data Centre (CBDC) in 2010, a not-for-profit organisation hosted by Tullie House Museum and advised by local stakeholders.
Cumbria Biodiversity Data Centre
Cumbria Biodiversity Data CentreFriday, November 22nd, 2024 at 2:34am
Are you new to wildlife recording? Or would you like to find out how to make your wildlife observations REALLY useful to a range of different people and organisations?
Join our first Winter Webinar on Tuesday 17th December, 6:30-7:30pm to find out more about recording the wildlife you see at home, work or when out & about. There will be time for questions too.
The session is free and open to all but no apologies for the focus on Cumbrian flora and fauna!
Find out more and book your free place via our website: https://www.cbdc.org.uk/get-involved/winter-webinars/
Cumbria Biodiversity Data Centre
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Cumbria Biodiversity Data Centre
Cumbria Biodiversity Data CentreFriday, November 1st, 2024 at 5:19am
Did you take part in Cumbria Wild Watch 2024? If so, we would love to find out what you thought of it and how we might improve in the future.
If this is the first time you have heard of Cumbria Wild Watch, tell us too!
Survey here: https://www.cbdc.org.uk/get-involved/cumbria-wild-watch/
Cumbria Biodiversity Data Centre
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Cumbria Biodiversity Data Centre
Cumbria Biodiversity Data CentreWednesday, October 30th, 2024 at 1:19am
Join us for two winter webinars to brighten the long, dark evenings: an Introduction to Biological Recording in December and Updating Cumbria's County Wildlife Sites in January.
Find out more and book your places:
https://www.cbdc.org.uk/get-involved/winter-webinars/

Image: Beth Lightburn
Cumbria Biodiversity Data Centre
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Cumbria Biodiversity Data Centre
Cumbria Biodiversity Data CentreMonday, October 28th, 2024 at 4:22am
The Cumbria Recorders' Conference 2025 will take place @Tullie on 22 February 2025. For more information and to reserve your place, please visit the CBDC website: https://www.cbdc.org.uk/get-involved/recorders-conference/

Image: Beth Lightburn
Cumbria Biodiversity Data Centre
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Cumbria Biodiversity Data Centre
Cumbria Biodiversity Data CentreWednesday, October 23rd, 2024 at 4:06am
Event addendum to the CBDC Newsletter from BSBI:

Annual Scottish Meeting at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh on Sat 02 Nov 2024. Small charge for registration.
British & Irish Botanical Conference on Sat 23 Nov at Natural History Museum, London. Free!
More details: https://bsbi.org/field-meetings-and-indoor-events
Cumbria Biodiversity Data Centre
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Cumbria Biodiversity Data Centre
Cumbria Biodiversity Data CentreMonday, October 21st, 2024 at 3:27am
Do you consider yourself a moth-trapper?

If so, researchers at Natural History Museum and University College London would like you to take part in a short survey about moth trapping. To take part, click the link below:

https://qualtrics.ucl.ac.uk/jfe/form/SV_4SbRHvviPE42jC6
Cumbria Biodiversity Data Centre
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