Our Legacy and the Future
Legacy was written into Chalk, Cherries and Chairs from the start – both for individual projects and for the Scheme as a whole.
The Scheme sought ways in which those in the Central Chilterns could work together more collaboratively, use resources more effectively and engage more people in improving the resilience of their landscape. There are many areas where work established within Chalk, Cherries and Chairs will continue and be built upon over the years to come, such as the Central Chilterns Farmer Cluster, New Shoots, Tracking the Impact, the Makers’ Hub and Chair Network, and more.
We are extremely proud of the legacy Chalk, Cherries and Chairs has achieved – both for individual projects and for the Scheme as a whole.
Project legacies
Highlights include:
- Funding has been secured for the Chilterns National Landscape and Chiltern Rangers to continue work on Chilterns New Shoots conservation programme for young people.
- The Chilterns National Landscape is furthering CCC’s work on farmer clusters and nature recovery, with some new funding secured.
- BBOWT has used its work with CCC to pave the way for a Community Network Officer who will continue to build connections between local nature groups.
- Our wildlife monitoring programme, Tracking the Impact, has expanded into the River Chess Smarter Water Catchment area and secured funding for its continuation, with a view to achieve long-term monitoring in the Chilterns.
- The Chilterns Heritage and Archaeology Partnership (CHAP) is well-placed to host and share the outputs of our Woodlanders’ Lives and Landscapes, Routes to the Past, and Mysteries of Grim’s Ditch projects, building them into its work and ensuring they will continue to be a reference for years to come, as well as supporting new groups such as Wycombe Museum’s Chair Network, the Chiltern Makers’ Hub at Amersham Museum.
- Our virtual tour of Grim’s Ditch is the first of its kind to be created by the Chilterns National Landscape and will be used as an example for future accessibility guides.
- Our online Neighbourhood Planning Toolkit, now hosted and promoted by the Chilterns National Landscape, will continue to help communities to take action to conserve and enhance their local area through local planning processes.
- Wycombe Museum are now better equipped to deliver prehistory sessions for schools, which they will continue to do as a result of Chalk, Cherries and Chairs.
“The project has made a difference to so many people, from all walks of life, ages, abilities, and backgrounds. Planting a new hedgerow on one of the cluster farms included two brand new volunteers who had never volunteered in the Chilterns prior to the day and two long term Chilterns Rangers volunteers who have special needs.” Chiltern Rangers
Volunteer hedgelayers at Collingshanger Farm
The Future
As well as the legacies outlined above, our partner organisations have learnt from each other and gained an understanding of each other’s expertise and experience as well as forging lasting friendships. Despite the official scheme coming to an end, a small amount of underspend is allowing us to continue the Partnership for a further year, which means that the Partners will continue to meet quarterly to explore new opportunities for the Central Chilterns and beyond, as well as oversee a piece of delivery work focused on young people, led by the current Project Manager.
A key success of CCC has been the link established between heritage and nature, both in delivery work and between partners. In early 2024, we commissioned arts consultancy INSTAR to investigate how young people in and around High Wycombe feel about their local landscape and how they want to interact with it. Our year long project will be used to further explore, and implement the recommendations from this research, aiming to increase partners’ knowledge of working with young people and encourage more young people to get involved in conservation and heritage activities, and engage more in their local landscape.
If you would like to find out more about the Forward Plan, please email anna@adfconsultancy.co.uk.
Chalk, Cherries and Chairs end of scheme report
Our end of scheme report details how Chalk, Cherries and Chairs has delivered lasting benefits, thanks to funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and other match funders.
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Non Commercial 4.0 (CC-BY-NC4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
We celebrated Chalk, Cherries and Chairs on 25th September in the Bucks New University Atrium, and what a great evening it was!
We heard from farmers, trainee conservationists, and volunteers about their highlights of the scheme as well as showcasing its achievements—from wildlife restoration to cultural heritage preservation, like the region’s historic chair-making industry. It was a brilliant opportunity to celebrate and thank the incredible people and volunteers who have worked so hard to make this Scheme a success.
Pictures from our final celebration event
Outstanding Chilterns Magazine
Featured walks
