Alumni Launch Bold Campaign to Save Windermere 

Brother and sister Finn Pattinson (Tyson’s 2013) and Mimi Pattinson (Tyson’s 2017) have joined forces to launch an impressive campaign to demand an end to sewage pollution in Windermere, England’s largest and most iconic lake. 

The Save Windermere Campaign is spearheaded by their friend and zoologist Matt Staniek and it aims to return Windermere to its ecologically natural state through the complete removal of all treated and untreated sewage discharges into the Windermere catchment and by holding key polluters accountable.  

As well as campaigning, the team has set up several data collection programmes, including an Invertebrate Sampling Superb with charity WildFish and an earth observation project in partnership with the UK Space Agency.  

In just nine months, the campaign has gained significant national attention. A demonstration attended by 3000 people, including some well-known faces, Steve Coogan, Lee Mack & Paul Whitehouse, has been featured in several documentaries, national press and broadcast news, and they have hosted a fundraiser with seven of the Lake District’s leading Michelin-starred chefs.  

A BBC Panorama expose which reveals how water companies are routinely covering up pollution incidents and how the Environment Agency is failing to stop them, has also featured the work of the campaign.  

Talking about their motivations about being involved in the campaign, Mimi said:

When I DM’d Matt Staniek back in September 2022 asking if he’d like to meet my family, explaining our long connection with Windermere, I had no idea he would soon become like a second brother in the shared endeavour to save our lake and its wildlife.

At school, my friends would tease me for dreaming about the Lake District, but I’m not the only one who feels this enchantment. The love we feel for the natural world is important, and the destruction being done by United Utilities in Windermere is reflective of the wider environmental crisis. In an overwhelming time, standing up for the nature close to us feels like a good place to start.

Finn added:

Windermere holds a special place in my heart. This campaign is personal because the Lake District has been home to my family for generations, and I have spent so many joyful summers on the lake. I want to ensure that the beauty and ecological integrity of Windermere can continue to be enjoyed for generations to come.

Congratulations to Finn and Mimi and the whole campaign team on shining a light such an important issue.

On 11 December, they launched a new campaign film, and a new petition calling calling for an immediate public inquiry into the Environment Agency to protect our freshwater and save Windermere.

Visit Save Windermere to find out more and sign the petition.

Image shows: Mimi Pattinson, Matt Staniek and Finn Pattinson.