Giving nature a helping hand is maybe how best to describe the work of Tom Lindsay.
Along with a small team, Aspatria-based TM Lindsay Ltd has already made a big impact in the world of restoring rivers and generally helping wildlife and the landscape it lives in to flourish.
Based in north Cumbria but with experience all over the North and more recently Lincolnshire, Tom’s route into restoration has – like the rivers he has recently restored – proved to be varied.
“I started out as a stable lad working for Jonjo O’Neill,” Tom recalls but after two years his dreams of racing sadly faded: “I grew!”
After a stint in agricultural work his career accelerated when he joined Cockermouth-based M-Sport for two seasons where he learned a lot.
Logistics and management were two key skills he acquired while travelling the world.
He completed a hat-trick of working for three noted-Cumbrian businesses by joining Stobarts, working for William Stobart looking after a polo wagon and working with the organisation’s landscaping teams.
A change in the company came and led to a ‘this is it’ moment for Tom who decided to branch out on his own and go into the world of conservation.
“I’d always had a huge interest in the countryside and it felt like the right thing to do,” Tom said. “One of my first projects was with the West Cumbria Rivers Trust in 2016 reconnecting river channels around Cleator Moor.”
Over the years the work came in and Tom expanded to become a three-man team including diggers and drivers.
One of his most recent projects was with the RSPB at Geltsdale where as main contractor he was responsible for guiding the river and creating wetland areas.
Designed by George Heritage from Dynamic Rivers the project has just received the UK River Prize, the project scale award 2025.
“There was a real challenge to get across the beck which was in a very sensitive adder breeding ground,” Tom remembers.
“The warden walked ahead of machinery to check for snakes which we didn’t want to disturb. Hearing it had won an award was a nice surprise – it went better than we’d hoped.”
An earlier project he was involved in was highlighted by Business Crack last year at Matterdale where Cumbria Wildlife Trust commissioned work to bring back peatland to an area vital for absorbing water.
“Coming from Cockermouth I know that holding heavy rainfall back just makes good sense and it was a privilege to be involved in a project that we know is already paying off,” Tom said.
“Sometimes it’s just intuitive – you know where creating pools will pay off and working with nature, leaving places looking rough works.”
Recent work on the River Reed for the Tyne River Trust in the north-east is an example where within six weeks of work finishing, nature had more than made its mark leading to a diverse range of flora and fauna finding a home.
Ten years on and Tom is able to scale up his workforce as demand arises and can call on tree-planting colleagues to help out.
Growing up in a rural area brings another advantage too.
“We know restoration work can be contentious but it doesn’t have to be,” Tom says. “Knowing how to talk to tenants and use the kind of language they can relate to can help explain what it is we’re trying to achieve and the benefits this kind of work can bring.”
He’s the first to admit he will never stop learning about habitats and has invested in the kind of kit increasingly needed to help restore areas without causing more damage to the environment.
“Five years ago it was a gamble to purchase machinery fuelled by bio-oil but it’s paying off,” Tom said. “We always steam clean it to prevent cross contamination.”
Work for the National Trust around Windermere and Acorn Bank will keep him and his small team busy over the summer.
Tom is hoping his team will leave a mark on the countryside that will be enjoyed by generations to come.
“I get a massive buzz to do more.”
