March 2022

News from the team

As Spring begins to show its face across our catchments with hedges, fields and river banks flushing with spring's new green, our own spring clean and refresh of the partnership is making strides behind the scenes. Over the last year, we have listened to our partners and have been working hard on refreshing how we work, updating the catchment plan (more on that soon), and generally putting the partnership in a better place to support its partners and achieve better outcomes for our rivers. This process is ongoing, but we are pleased to say the progress to date has been really positive- our new website is nearly complete and we hope to launch this soon; our revised catchment plan too is developing well following considerable input from partners (thank you!) and will be launched later this spring. Behind the scenes, perhaps less exciting but just as fundamental to how we work with and through our partners, we have refreshed our terms of reference, including the structure of our various groups- this is being implemented now, including the change to six-monthly meetings for our Delivery and Strategy Groups.

The latest from our catchments

• 'Big Chalk' is a partnership aiming to assist nature recovery across the entire chalk landscape ranging from the South Coast up to the Midlands. Natural England is supporting Big Chalk to involve a broader range of local partners in the approach including water companies, farmers and heritage NGOs. A workshop was run recently with partners in Dorset to kickstart this process.
• Dorset Local Nature Partnership published a revision of its Natural Value Report, which includes new infographics that provide a snapshot of Dorset's numerous natural assets.
• Natural England has approved the use of Community Infrastructure Levy funding for the Throop Nature Park SANG on the River Stour. Work is planned to start on the site in late summer 2022 for the opening of the park in late summer 2023.
• The Purbeck Natural History Forum has launched and is recruiting members, who'll receive information and resources about the components of the Purbeck NNR, including organised surveys and how to run your own surveys. A start-up session for volunteers will be held on Wednesday 20th April, those who are interested can contact info@footprint-ecology.co.uk to join.
• Dorset Wildlife Trust has launched its new Strategy 'A Wilder Dorset by 2030' which has three key aims to restore habitats and wildlife, champion the natural environment and inspire people and communities.
• GWCT scientists developed a new wildlife cover crop seed mix that will be available through the Sustainable Farming Incentive Test and Trial pilot scheme. The seed mix aims to last for 10 years and contains over 20 species to provide better food and habitat for insects and birds than other wildlife seed mixes.