#127: MATT STANIEK: Saving Windermere

...in which we stride out from Waterhead in the company of ecologist and Save Windermere campaigner Matt Staniek. In the vibrant watermeadows that flank the River Rothay we dig into local lad Matt's early life – where hedgehogs were nursed in the family home and Matt took nature walks with his grandmother. Fast-forwarding to the car crash that broke his neck, we learn about Matt's recuperative trips to Borrans Park, where the north shores of Windermere became a place of healing. Delving into the science of sewage, we consider the contributions that farming and private treatment plants make to nutrient levels in Windermere, dwarfed by the release – legal and illegal – of sewage by United Utilities. Subjecting Matt to our quickfire questions, we hear about his love of Side Pike and Windermere's Homeground; of the wonders of unpolluted becks; and of the Viking burial he imagines as a send-off, alongside the bronze toilet epitaph he wants erected outside UU's Windermere office. Detailing how sewage could be banished from Windermere for good, we ask Matt what he does on days off... and when his remarkable campaign will come to an end.

• Matt can be found on X at x.com/MattStaniek and on Instagram at nstagram.com/mattstaniek/?hl=en

• Save Windermere can be found at savewindermere.com

• The March to Save Windermere is held on 29 June. Mark and Dave will be there !

• For those interested in learning more about Section 101A of the Water Act – that states "sewerage undertakers have a duty to provide new public sewers where specific criteria are met" – it can be found here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1991/56/section/101A#:~:text=(1)Without%20prejudice%20to%20section,(2)%20below%20are%20satisfied.

Confluence of the rivers Rothay and Brathay at the head of Windermere.

Man on a mission: Matt Staniek.

Confluence of the rivers Rothay and Brathay at the head of Windermere.

Moorings at the north end of Windermere.

Heron in the reedbeds, The Croft beyond.

Matt and Mark in the watermeadows.

Matt chats with a local whose previous dog had died because of algal blooms in Windermere.