Rescuing a Chalk Stream
1st March 2022
Image – Nicola Schafer
The hills above Watlington have a secret. They are the source of one of the world’s rare chalk streams. But the Chalgrove Brook is under threat from all sides.
One Oxfordshire community is taking action to restore and protect its chalk stream. A local film maker, Nicola Schafer, has produced a film explaining why chalk streams exist and why they are important. It is a call to action to all communities to connect with, and protect their local streams and habitats, and shows how this might be achieved.
“What distinguishes a chalk stream is the fact the water comes from springs out of chalk. The Chiltern Hills form part of a strip of chalk geology stretching from East Anglia into Northern France – that’s it for the whole globe…chalk streams are locally common but internationally rare.”
Mike Chadwick, Watlington Watercourses Project
Watch the film via YouTube here