Whispers of Chalk Stream at Bishop's Sutton Village Hall

A community walk along the stream in Bishop's Sutton had to be scrapped with the event moving indoors to the village hall.

The Watercress and Winterbournes Community Grant Scheme has funded the Whispers of Chalk Stream via the Lottery Heritage Fund. 

The gathering, on Saturday, March 9, marked the third of eight events in Bishop’s Sutton, which was one of the recipients of the grant. 

The organisers had planned for this particular gathering to be a community walk along the beautiful chalk stream that runs through the village, but sadly, the ever unpredictable British weather put pay to that idea. 

However, not to be beaten, Dr Helen Clarke and Dr Sharon Witt arranged an indoor event with expert speakers, activities and refreshments, all in the village hall, which overlooks the banks of the river. 

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The speakers imparted their knowledge to an interested audience about wildlife and habitats in the area. The audience was then encouraged to try their hands at willow modelling. 

The whole project was designed to engage an inter-generational community through collaborative and inclusive encounters, as well as art-based practices and gatherings. They seemed to have succeeded on all fronts.

With representatives from the parish council and from The Wildlife Trust (who were charged with distributing the grant money to this and other projects) were active participants. The young and the not-so-young were in attendance, and everyone seemed to enjoy learning about the ecosystem that is on their doorstep, and to try their hands at ancient arts.