Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust have been awarded a grant from the Government’s £40 million second round of the Green Recovery Challenge Fund. The grant of nearly £200,000 has been awarded to support the Hertfordshire Living Rivers Project to continue to run until March 2023.

The Hertfordshire Living Rivers Project is one of the ninety nature projects across England which have been awarded grants from £68,100 to £1,950,000 to create and retain over 1,000 green jobs, backed by the Government’s £80 million Green Recovery Challenge Fund.

Living Rivers is an ongoing project which aims to restore chalk rivers in Hertfordshire and Middlesex. Hertfordshire is home to 10% of the world’s globally rare chalk streams, but these unique habitats are under threat from low flows, pollution and poor management. The Trust works with landowners, river groups, farmers and statutory bodies to bring chalk streams back to good health and connect them to a natural floodplain of wetlands, ponds, ditches and wet meadows so that our freshwater wildlife can thrive.

Conservation Manager Tim Hill said:

“Restoring our wetland and river habitats has never been so important as it is today. With less than 15% of our rivers in good condition across the country, we need to continue work to restore these precious environments. The Hertfordshire Living Rivers Project coordinates and delivers work to restore wetlands and the wildlife inhabiting our rivers and rare chalk streams.

A key focus over the next few years will be to use this funding to increase water vole populations through ambitious reintroduction programmes and, as hosts of the River Lea Catchment Partnership, to raise awareness of their plight and to work with partners to restore rivers to good health for wildlife and people.”

The Green Recovery Challenge Fund is a key part of the Prime Minister’s 10 Point Plan to kick-start nature recovery and tackle climate change. Connecting people with nature is another priority theme: by increasing access to nature and green spaces, projects will support both physical and mental wellbeing. The Government's Green Recovery Challenge Fund was developed by Defra and its Arm's-Length Bodies. The fund is being delivered by The National Lottery Heritage Fund in partnership with Natural England, the Environment Agency and Forestry Commission.

Environment Minister, Rebecca Pow, said:

“The diverse and ambitious projects being awarded funding today will help environmental organisations employ more people to work on tree-planting, nature restoration and crucially, help more of the public to access and enjoy the outdoors.

“Through our £80 million Fund, we are on track to support over 2,500 jobs, plant                        almost a million trees and increase nature recovery at a huge scale across the                country, which will help us deliver against our 25 Year Environment Plan.”

Ros Kerslake, Chief Executive, National Lottery Heritage Fund, said:

“From wetland restoration to creating wildlife-rich habitat for bees, it is vital that we value, protect and rebuild our natural heritage. This new funding will not only allow projects to carry out direct conservation which is essential in protecting our biodiversity, but it will increase awareness of how and why we need to change our behaviours in order to protect our future.” 

Emma Howard Boyd, Chair of the Environment Agency, said:

“By supporting jobs from Northumberland to Somerset, the Green Recovery Challenge Fund will help deliver a nature positive future. The fund supports young people to develop skills needed to protect nature, build back greener and prepare for climate impacts, like floods and heatwaves.”

Living Rivers