About us
About us
Background
Growing from an initial partnership of Protected Landscapes, the Big Chalk Partnership comprises more than 150 organisations with a common vision of creating thriving chalk and limestone landscapes across southern England.
At its heart are 13 National Landscapes, the South Downs National Park and eight National Trails, including the iconic Ridgeway.
Big Chalk performs a vital role in nature’s recovery, connecting national targets and plans with participatory modes of delivery, including regional and local partnerships and farm clusters.
Importantly, it helps ensure delivery is effective and makes the best use of the resources available.
Big Chalk has been supported through several development phases, firstly by Natural England and then, since 2023, by the Protected Landscapes Partnership, supported by Defra.
The National Landscapes Association hosts the programme lead.
Our vision and mission
Our vision is to create nature-rich chalk and limestone landscapes that benefit all of us.
Our mission is to collectively secure the future of nature in southern England’s iconic chalk and limestone landscapes, by:
- championing the global importance of their unique nature,
- uniting nature recovery expertise to restore habitats and species, and
- working with speed, scale and focus.
The change we can make together
By growing the size and reach of our partnership, we can increase the scale and pace of nature recovery activity across the Big Chalk geography (19% of England).
This will help deliver national ambition and targets for nature while building ecological resilience to climate change, through significant improvements to:
- the area, quality and connectivity of species-rich grasslands, woodland and farmland habitats,
- the quality and function of England’s chalk streams and rivers, and
- the abundance and range of priority species.
Wherever possible, we will seek and promote solutions which also deliver public goods, including protecting historic and cultural heritage, water management, soil health and carbon sequestration, natural beauty and health and wellbeing.
Funders and Partners
The current phase of Big Chalk development is funded by the Protected Landscapes Partnership, supported by Defra.
This funding has enabled the appointment of a dedicated programme development role, as well as communications, brand and website development and a partnership conference.
The partner organisations currently represented on the Partnership Board are listed here
Governance
The Big Chalk model is one of a small core organisation, connecting and amplifying the activities of its partner organisations.
Delivery on the ground is partner-led, by existing or, where needed, forming new partnerships.
Big Chalk’s activities are overseen by a Partnership Board, made up of representatives from a cross section of partner organisations.
Knowledge transfer in the Partnership happens through a series of topic groups, which meet online around three to four times a year.
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