The yearlong project, in partnership with Chesterfield Borough Council, has seen the Trust work with the local community, developing outdoor education opportunities for local schools, a free alternate health club for adults to get outdoors and chances for the local community to get together to find and record all the wildlife on the reserve.

It follows a major project by the Environment Agency in 2017 to re-meander the river in order to improve the area for wildlife.

The work was made possible thanks to funding of £41,300 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.  

Helen Mitchem, who lead on the project for Derbyshire Wildlife Trust said, “We’re delighted that we’ve been able to reconnect the local community with this beautiful site and its wildlife. We’ve also been working with volunteers to improve the nature reserve around the river: clearing up rubbish and removing invasive species such as Himalayan balsam. We’ve also lead guided walks and children’s activities like river dipping. It’s been great fun working on the project and we hope people have grown to love their local green space as much as we do!”

To find out more about this project, visit the project page. If you would like to visit the site, the address is Bent Lane, Staveley, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S43 3UG