The new Nenescape partnership will explore the Nene Valley and its people, heritage and identity, using a £2.8million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to support the £4.5million partnership project. By working with 11 partners to deliver 16 projects, communities will collectively explore how past people and industries have had an impact on the River Nene and develop skills to respond to current and future pressures on this special part of the world.
Matt Johnson, WT BCN Living Landscapes Manager says: 'This is an exciting opportunity to work with a range of partners to further conserve the important habitats and wildlife across the Nene Valley Living Landscape. As well as promoting the natural heritage of the Nene Valley our projects will specifically work with landowners to create wildflower meadows, restore wetland habitats and provide a better managed landscape for overwintering birds across the valley’s nature reserves, local wildlife sites and farmland.'
The Nenescape journey began more than three years ago with an ambition born from the Nene Valley Nature Improvement Area (NIA). Led by the Wildlife Trust, the NIA was a pivotal experience for the Nene Valley, bringing partners together around a common aspiration and providing a vehicle through which organisations could achieve their individual aims in a coordinated and collaborative way, leading to big improvements in the way the valley is managed for nature and for people.
Nenescape has capitalised on this foundation and expanded beyond expectations leading to a comprehensive scheme of projects covering all aspects of the valley’s heritage. The natural environment still features but also included are elements of industrial heritage and the rich cultural and social heritage. All these elements are carefully woven together in Nenescape for a better understood, better managed and more accessible valley.
The Wildlife Trust is leading on Farming for the Future - a project which will promote, conserve and improve the natural heritage of the Nene Valley, delivering meadow and wetland restoration, supported by the opportunity for farmers and land owners to access grant funding to make vital infrastructural improvements to aid water quality. The Trust will also work collaboratively on Access for All looking at understanding recreation pressure and impact on wildlife across the Nene Valley.
