The low-lying landscape of the Manhood Peninsula, south of Chichester in West Sussex, is prone to surface water flooding due in part to poor ditch and pond management. The project, led by a local Wildlife & Heritage Group, aims to engage the local community in reducing surface water flooding by re-establishing the local network of ditches and ponds and, through this, create better Water Vole habitat and help recover a nationally important population of this species.
R4C has worked with this NLHF funded project for 4 years, producing the evaluation framework and undertaking the interim evaluation we have the final evaluation. Here, we are evaluating the habitat improvement, the biodiversity gain, the volunteering, and the community involvement, creating a story of how to build a more resilient landscape.