From chalk streams to limestone grasslands rich with orchids and pollinators, Big Chalk brings together some of England’s most distinctive and threatened landscapes.
A partnership of more than 150 organisations—farmers, land managers, charities, public bodies and communities—working across a connected chalk and limestone landscape stretching across southern England and covering around 20% of the country.
Together, our partnership is already delivering change. Grasslands are being restored, habitats reconnected, nature-friendly farming supported, and chalk streams starting to recover. The Big Chalk Nature Recovery Fund alone has backed 23 projects, contributing to this wider effort.
Where we are now
With the support of Resources for Change, who facilitated the first phase of Big Chalk partnership development in 2022, we are now beginning a structured programme of conversations through 2026 to help shape how the partnership evolves.
This is about strengthening coordination and ensuring Big Chalk is in the best possible position to support nature’s recovery across more than 20% of England, helping meet 30by30 ambitions and responding to the realities of climate change.
Introducing Big Chalk Conversations
Big Chalk Conversations are a series of workshops and engagement sessions designed to strengthen how we work together across this shared landscape.
They are not traditional consultations. They are practical, facilitated conversations that help partners move from shared understanding to stronger alignment and action.
Together we will:
- build a clearer shared understanding of Big Chalk’s role across different landscapes
- explore where the greatest opportunities lie to connect people, projects and places
- identify what is enabling or constraining delivery at landscape scale
- strengthen how national ambition connects with local delivery and investment
How it will work
The programme runs across 2026 in three phases:
- Workshops with existing Big Chalk partners across seven locations
- Meeting new partners and places
- Bringing everything together as next steps
Book onto a Big Chalk Conversation
Phase One workshops are now open for existing partners and those working across the current Big Chalk geography.
These workshops are designed to bring together the people already helping shape nature recovery across chalk and limestone landscapes. Each session will cover the same themes and conversations but will take place in different locations across the Big Chalk area to help make participation as accessible as possible.
You are welcome to attend whichever session works best for you. If, depending on how you travel, a workshop outside your immediate area is quicker, easier or more affordable to reach, please book the event that best suits your needs.
Big Chalk has been shaped by its partners—from those restoring grasslands and managing land, to those reconnecting habitats and improving streams across the landscape.
We are at a point of great need and real opportunity: we want to see a step change in how nature’s recovery is energised across our amazing chalk and limestone landscapes.
Join a Big Chalk Conversation. Share your experience and perspectives. Help turn our shared ambition into coordinated action.