WILDER ANCHOLME PROJECT TO HOLD LAUNCH EVENT IN BRIGG

An interesting project about the River Ancholme Valley is to hold a launch event in Brigg. We expect it will generate plenty of interest.
Wilder Ancholme wants to hear from local people with stories to tell.
"We want to preserve the history of life in the Ancholme and we will be taking oral histories at our project launch event on the 22nd February," it says. "Come along to the Buttercross in Brigg Market Place and make sure your stories are recorded."
Folk who drop in at the 200-year-old town centre landmark between 10.15am and 2.30pm on Saturday, February 22 will be able to find more about the project and  local community groups that are getting involved.
Wilder Ancholme is an environmental conservation organisation. Its mission is to develop a community-based project to rediscover the lost heritage and biodiversity of the Ancholme Valley.
The following press release, containing additional information, was issued in June 2019...

Re-discovering and re-wilding a ‘lost landscape’: Lincolnshire’s the Ancholme Valley

Thanks to National Lottery players a new project is about to start in the Ancholme Valleyarea between Brigg and South Ferriby. 
‘Re-discovering and re-wilding a ‘lost landscape’: Lincolnshire’s the Ancholme Valley’ is being organised by the South Yorkshire Biodiversity Research Group.
It is funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, and is set to run over the next two years.
The ‘Re-discovering and re-wilding a ‘lost’ landscape’ project is taking place in the remarkable and unique Ancholme Valley primarily in the area north of Brigg towards the Humber Estuary. It will combine ecological and historical information with research into memories and reminiscences of recent landscape change, and the drainage of once-extensive wetlands.
Starting at the present day, we will be peeling back the layers of history to discover hidden landscape heritage and biodiversity. Much of this heritage that we want to investigate still exists in the countryside fabric of this lost wetland landscape – in hidden river courses, ponds, meres, streams, old lanes and greenways, derelict farms and cottages, and more.
The place-names and lanes tell a story of landscapes past, and the buildings and families bear evidence of the changing communities. Documentary research and historical ecological records will add to the window from the past. Investigations will be carried out in association with volunteers from local communities and we will be running a series of ecology and heritage events / training sessions in landscape history fieldwork, biodiversity survey techniques, and archival research.
The activities will help create an eco-historical record of this remarkable but under-appreciated landscape, and of the communities that have inhabited the area throughout its long history. These historical landscapes and their very special heritage will be brought back to life with written outputs plus computer graphics and artwork to create written and visual interpretations available on the project website. All the materials will be presented as on-line resources and there will be a downloadable wildlife and heritage trail.
Professor Ian Rotherham of Sheffield Hallam University said 'The Ancholme represents a unique opportunity to unravel past wildlife and heritage and to inform an emerging vision of a rich and vibrant future for the area. We want local people to come along and help us discover the amazing story of this valley’s past.’
Any project such as this always needs lots of help! So, if you are interested in finding out more, becoming a volunteer or have information that you would like to share, please let us know via the ‘contact us’ page on www.ukeconet.org