The Aquifer Partnership

Congrats to Moulsecoomb Primary School for being the first "Ambassador School" in an urban area for South Downs National Park Authority. We're proud to have worked with Moulsecomb in the past to transform their courtyard play area into a sustainable #raingarden and continue to support by working with "Our City Our World" with Brighton & Hove City Council Here's to more incredible works inspiring students and schools!

Amplify youth voices 📢 Here is a fantastic opportunity for students 16-25 to get involved with local actions that have a global impact as a UNESCO Biosphere Youth Representative.

#Water #Science #Aquifer #KnowledgeSharing #Research With the planned increased UK precipitations and dryer Summers in the years to come (see graph enclosed), we need to share #knowledge, #data and #bestpractices to find the most effective solutions to #adapt to #climatechange. And we need to understand the specificity of our local natural resources. We are lucky to count Professor Martin Smith as a longstanding partner of the #TAP team,. He is a Professor at the University of Brighton. A #geologist, #geochemist and #mineralogist, he is also the Associate Dean for Research and Enterprise in the School of Applied Sciences. As part of a Partnership meeting with The Living Coast UNESCO Biosphere last July in Shoreham Port, he shared some key facts about the specific geology of our local #Chalk #Aquifer which provides the drinking water for our area🚰, highlighting its complexity and the importance to protect it from the various sources of pollution in our urban and rural environments. Together with Martin, we work on several projects (we'll share more soon...watch this space!) and were thrilled to meet last week with Professor David M. Hannah, UNESCO Chair in Water Sciences in the UK, Deputy Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Sustainability) at the University of Birmingham and Director of the Birmingham Institute for Sustainability and Climate Action , who also works on interdisciplinary collaborations so #hydrology can better understood to face the global and local challenges on #water quality and quantity. #Science has a major role to play. We'll soon share new evidence and local solutions that are proving efficient to improve water quality. UNESCO UK UNESCO Chair on Sustainable Management of Conservation Areas Geological Society of London

A very interesting project up in Scotland, demonstrating the direct links between restoring #biodiversity and protecting our #water supplies: The land management around the eight-mile-long (13km) freshwater loch will protect the quality and #resilience of the water supply as the climate changes. “By taking a whole-catchment approach, this 10-year plan sets out a long-term vision which will help secure the resilience and quality of Loch Katrine as a vital water supply into the 22nd Century while also supporting nature, tourism and the rural economy.” said Mark Williams, Scottish Water’s head of sustainability and climate change. Thank you BBC BBC News for shedding light on this exemplary project. https://lnkd.in/e_7UgwmR #Water #Rewilding #ProtectingOurAquifers #peatland #moorland #woodland The Living Coast UNESCO Biosphere Southern Water Sean Ashworth Leasa Williams Robin Kelly Environment Agency

#JobAlert! The Ouse & Adur Rivers Trust are looking for a #CatchmentManager. A fantastic opportunity to work for this registered #charity working to #protect, #restore and #enhance the #rivers, streams, estuaries and lakes across the two catchments. They work closely with communities, business, and partner organisations to deliver projects focused on improving the environment for both wildlife and people. With a focus on climate adaptation and reducing landscape vulnerability, the Catchment Manager will seek to diversify the membership of the partnership whilst bringing together a wide range of stakeholders, landowners, farmers, community groups and individuals. Please #Share with your networks! More info >>> https://lnkd.in/ewjTxu9H Pete King Jane Goodall Chloe Clarke Martin Harris The Living Coast UNESCO Biosphere Rachel Paget Dougal Alexander Fleming Natasha Padbury Maureen Berg Leasa Williams Robin Kelly Libby Drew

🗳️TIME TO VOTE AGAIN! We have been nominated twice at the #SouthDownsDesignAwards! We are proud to have been shortlisted for 2 projects in the Landscape Category: 🏫 The beautiful #Raingarden at #WallandsCommunityPrimarySchool in Lewes District Council. It transformed the playground into a biodiversity haven, helping the school being much more resilient to flooding, but also offering a fantastic vehicle for children to connect with nature for their health & wellbeing. >> You can check out the full case study here: https://lnkd.in/echfD22u 🌳 The pioneering #WildParkRainscape in Brighton & Hove City Council's Nature Reserve. Initiated in 2017 with National Highways, it will offer several shallow planted basins that can hold water during heavy rainfall, address localised flooding, help reduce road run-off water pollution, and improve the area for people and nature. >> More information available here: https://lnkd.in/eFGXGzaR. We are humbled to feature on this prestigious list together with equally mindblowing projects: the Cockshut Stream Restoration in Lewes and the Woolbeding Glasshouse, in West Sussex County Council. 🗳️ Please support our work by voting at the People's Choice Awards >>> https://lnkd.in/enNYQ_Qn  Voting closes at midnight on 6 September. We count on you! Hosted by The Living Coast UNESCO Biosphere, The Aquifer Partnership (now called The Aquifer Project) aims at working collaboratively with key local players to protect the #quality and #quantity of our precious #groundwater stemming from the Brighton Chalk Block aquifer. Since 2016, together with Brighton & Hove City Council, Southern Water, the Environment Agency and the South Downs National Park Authority, this wide-reaching programme has worked with residents, farmers, landowners, and schools across the Brighton and Lewes area. Claire Kerr Martin Smith Mita Patel Sean Ashworth Leasa Williams Robin Kelly Martin Harris Paul Batty Emma Cullis Jane Goodall Aimee Felus Susie Howells Katherine McKee, MSc Bryn Mabey Tim Bartlett Nick Bean Max Woodford

#JobAlert! #FloodRisk #SeniorProjectEngineer Are you passionate about delivering change that has a long-lasting, positive impact on people’s lives and where they live? Do you have experience working in #SustainableUrbanDrainageSystems to help tackle flooding and regenerate biodiversity? Brighton & Hove City Council are looking to recruit a Project Engineer focusing on flood risk management, to support the flood risk manager in delivering their flood management plan for the next five years.   Please share with your network! See the link to the full #jobdescription in the comments of the post. #floodrisk #skills #aquifer #water #greatjob #meaningfulljob #highways

📢Families, groups and all river lovers - your river needs YOU next weekend! 👨👩👦👦 ⏰ There's just one week to go before #TheBigRiverWatch returns! Help us as a Rivers Trust movement compile vital data about the state of our rivers over the Bank Holiday weekend, 3rd-6th May. 💦How does your stretch of river make you feel? 🦆Is wildlife thriving? 💩 Are there signs of pollution? Just 15% of rivers in England are in "good" ecological health and we want to gain data to be able to target areas where we can bring nature-based solutions to improve them. An amazing 223 surveys were compiled in September for the first Big River Watch from our 12 catchment - and we want to double that this time. We have a handy map that helps you find your river across our wide area that stretches from Berkshire and parts of Hampshire through Surrey, south London, Kent and much of Sussex. Download the app and be ready! Visit our website to find out more https://ow.ly/gV7v50RnQg3 #BigRiverWatch #weekend #nature #wildlife

The #CityNatureChallenge is back this weekend! Last year, our area, the #BrightonAndEasternDowns, ranked #6 in the UK, with 6,868 observations. Can we do better this year? From Friday 26/04 to Monday 29/04, together we will participate to a global #CitizenScience challenge, helping our fellow Researchers improve #data collection on the state of #nature locally...and beyond. Participation is free and accessible to anyone with a smartphone. 📱 Here’s how to get involved: 🤳Download the iNaturalist app: It’s #free and #easy to use. 🌳Go #outside: Explore your local nature spots—from right outside your door, to your local #park, the #beach, the South Downs National Park Authority, etc. 📸Snap and Upload: Take #photos of wildlife: plants, insects, flowers, and animals and upload them via the app. 🌷Share (optional): Post your pics or sounds on social media with #CityNatureChallenge2024 This is a fun and easy opportunity to encourage your #communities, #colleagues, #families, #friends... to go outdoors and observe nature on their doorstep. Thank you to University of Brighton Professors Rachel White Maureen Berg Catherine Kelly Nick Gant and University of Sussex Christopher Sandom Alice Eldridge, as well as #JanKnowlson, South Downs Biodiversity Officer, and the Natural History Museum and the Brighton & Hove Museums for their continued support towards this citizen science initiative. Last year, fellow #UK regions participating to the challenge included Birmingham City Council Greater Manchester Combined Authority Greater London Authority Bristol City Council Bath & North East Somerset Council Liverpool City Council Nottingham City Council etc. Let the challenge begin!