Yorkshire’s unique chalk streams to be protected after £255,000 funding grant

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust has purchased a 12.3 hectare area of chalk streams and wet grassland at Copper Hall Farm, at Skerne, in the East Riding, thanks to a grant from WREN’s Biodiversity Action Fund Land Purchase Programme.

The rare habitat - the most northern chalk streams - sit opposite a site already owned by the Trust on the River Hull. Both areas were previously fish farms and have been taken on in an attempt to rejuvenate the sites.

The Trust, with support from Natural England and the Environment Agency, will carry out a number of projects and improvements to the land, including setting up a proper grazing structure and management plan for the wet grassland, developing and reshaping the 30 ponds on site to create better habitats, removal of the fish farm infrastructure and bank improvements to the chalk streams.

Jon Traill, Living Landscapes Manager, at Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, said: “Chalk streams are the equivalent of rainforest – they are a very specific rare habitat. Most are found in the UK and many plants and animals thrive there, from kingfishers and water voles to the lesser water parsnip.

“The crystal clear waters make this a very special environment and one that we shouldn’t take for granted. This is why we are so delighted to have been able to purchase another site with the WREN grant, enabling us to protect this habitat for years to come.”

The grant is part of a £2.2m fund that aims to mitigate the effects of climate change by creating ecological networks and buying space and time for wildlife populations under pressure. More than 490 hectares of land awill be purchased including saltmarsh, heathland, woodland, chalk streams and grassland, and lowland raised bog.