A MAJOR project designed to help restore and protect the Chilterns’ precious chalk streams has received a £350,000 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Not Bourne Yesterday: Chalk Stream Communities of the Chilterns aims to rejuvenate the fragile chalk streams and promote a deeper connection with communities through art, archaeology, citizen science, and habitat restoration.
Not Bourne Yesterday comrpises a dozen interweaving initiatives that aim to conserve the environmental and cultural heritage associated with these rare rivers.
Working with partner organisations and local communities, the Chilterns National Landscape hopes to share the 8,000-year story of the Chilterns’ chalk streams, highlighting their connection to the everyday lives of people – past, present and future.
Dr Wendy Morrison, heritage and archaeology manager at the Chilterns National Landscape, said: “We are very excited by the opportunity to develop Not Bourne Yesterday into a suite of projects that will ultimately tell the story of these rivers over thousands of years in the past and connect them with the communities living around them today.”
Allen Beechey, project manager of the Chilterns Chalk Streams Project explained: “Through involving local communities in the development and delivery of the project, we hope to embed both a greater understanding of the importance of these rivers and a knowledge of how they can be conserved in future.”
The grant will support development of the project and pave the way for a full National Lottery grant of £2.8 million to enable the project to be delivered.
The chalk streams are among the most endangered habitats in England, facing severe threats from pollution, low water levels, habitat loss, and the impacts of climate change.
Despite the efforts of many organisations, their condition continues to worsen, nearing a critical tipping point.
The project aims to deliver more natural streams that are reconnected the landscape around them and host an apprenticeship scheme to train the next generation of chalk stream conservationists to ensure their long-term protection.
It will also improve accessibility to the streams and encourage broad participation and enjoyment of nature, as well as provide activities that will support mental health.
Not Bourne Yesterday will run a series of events in local communities, designed to bring the natural and cultural heritage of chalk streams to life.
wow!! 110Harvest highlights captured in close-up