(C) Tom Astbury
Green Recovery Challenge Fund
Our wildlife is facing huge pressure and declining at an alarming rate but this incredible grant from Defra and the National Lottery Heritage Fund puts us in a much stronger position to support a green recovery, and help people living, working and visiting Derbyshire to have a better connection with the wondrous wild places on our doorstep.
What is the fund?
The projects are funded by the government’s Green Recovery Challenge Fund. The fund is being delivered by The National Lottery Heritage Fund in partnership with Natural England and the Environment Agency.
The fund will help create and retain thousands of green jobs. The projects the fund supports will see protected landscapes and damaged habitats such as moorlands, wetlands and forests restored, alongside wider conservation work. The projects will also support environmental education and connecting people with green spaces.
Our project will help to improve the fortunes of wildlife and the Trust’s ambition to put 30 percent of the county back into recovery for nature by 2030. This includes increasing woodland and wetland in the Derwent valley to reduce flooding, exploring eco-tourism opportunities and increasing control of invasive species.
What will the project achieve?
The project will run until March 2022. The Green Recovery Challenge Fund will help us to achieve a large number of things, including;
Create a range of jobs in conservation – Four Living Landscapes Assistants who are carrying out the conservation and practical land management tasks are employed as part of the project. We have also had two Living Landscapes Advisers join the team, who are able to offer advice to other land managers.
Create four traineeships – Four trainees have joined Derbyshire Wildlife Trust and will gain a wide range of experience with us during the project. Each role has a focus on a particular area of work – such as helping engage people across Derbyshire through Team Wilder or supporting the work of our biological records centre.
Nature conservation and restoration projects - We will carry out a range of projects across Derbyshire including protecting the white-clawed crayfish in the region’s waterways using ark sites and barriers; carrying out works at Thornhill Carr to support the rewilding of the site; and carrying out wetland habitat improvement at Woodside Farm.
Connecting people with nature – This will include setting up the facilities for a forest school at Sunart farm; installing signs and an interpretation panel in the Wye Valley to help guide visitors; and providing training for the public on species identification.
