The aim of the Nurturing Nature project was to recruit, train, mentor and support a 'new generation' of biological recorders and increase the amount of recording effort in the Chase & Chalke Landscape Partnership area.
The Nurturing Nature Project was undertaken in collaboration with the Cranbourne Chase National Landscape and the Chase and Chalke Landscape Partnership and was completed in October 2024.
Efforts focused on collecting information from the area's important habitats of chalk download and woodland while engaging landowners and opening up opportunities for surveys of farmland. An important aspect of the project was to equip participants with the skills and experience to continue their engagement with nature and wildlife recording into the future.
A wide range of online and in-person training was organised to prepare the volunteers for spring and the recording season. A series of online and on-site events was held around the area to train and support the participants in recording wildlife, helping them build experience and increase their ID skills.
The Project Outcomes
The Nurturing Nature Project increased participation in biological recording in an important part of the National Landscape and helped establish a new baseline of data about the landscape and the wildlife living in it which will help inform future conservation projects and raise awareness of the threats to its habitats.
The project delivered over 100 training and surveying events, engaged with over 200 volunteers, worked with multiple local landowners and collected over 1,000 species records across the Chase & Chalke Landscape Partnership area.
The project was awarded the Wiltshire Life Award for Conservation Project of the Year 2024.
More Information
Photo credits: © Stephen Davis