Preserving our waterways
Our Rivers & Wetlands Group works tirelessly to safeguard the best interests of the Chilterns’ waterways; an important habitat for many species of flora and fauna. There are both natural and man-made threats to these precious habitats, including over-abstraction and inappropriate building developments in the region.
Working closely alongside other interested organisations, including the Environment Agency and Natural England, this important conservation group promotes the improvement and protection of Chiltern rivers, streams, ponds and brooks.
The group is currently involved with a number of projects including routine inspection and recording of the health, flow, flora and fauna of our rivers, working with the Environment Agency on various schemes to alleviate low river flows and compiling a comprehensive database archive of river information.
Following the recent Keeping Chiltern Chalk Streams Flowing Webinar about Affinity Water’s plans to take pressure off our chalk streams, please see link to the recording here.
Successes to date
- Promoting improvement programmes for the Wye, Misbourne, Bulbourne and Mimram
- Helping to save College Lake near Tring from uncontrolled water rises
- Created partnerships with the Environment Agency and water companies on water resource issues
- Creating historical records of the state of Chiltern rivers and their flood plains
- Campaigning against over abstraction from our rivers
- Assessing the impact of low rainfall on more than one hundred Chiltern ponds.
Gallery
Chilterns Chalk Streams Project
We are proud to be a member of this important partnership which aims to conserve and enhance all major chalk streams in the Chilterns AONB by:
- Raising awareness of the value of chalk streams as a globally rare habitat
- Giving advice to landowners on riverside management
- Undertaking conservation exercises to improve the streams for wildlife
- Doing surveys to assess habitat quality and populations of rare species
- Creating educational material for schools
If you’re viewing on a small screen, click/tap the map for a larger view.
Check out our new story map on Chiltern chalk streams, compiled by one of our volunteers, Susan Holmes. The story map gives a tour of the chalk streams found across the Chiltern Society’s area, including their ecological status and nearby Chiltern Society sites.
The story map also explains why chalk streams are under threat, and what the Chiltern Society is doing to protect them. There are also some top tips for what we can all do to help keep chalk streams clean and flowing.
Other ways to help
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Other ways to help
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