People in north Staffordshire are being asked to nominate special dry stone walls in the area that they believe need to be rebuilt and protected.
During 2011 the Churnet Valley Landscape Character Assessment identified the loss of traditional boundary features, such as dry stone walls and laid hedges, as one of the serious threats to the quality of the landscape. The Churnet Valley Living landscape Partnership, with support from the Heritage Lottery Fund, are looking for special walls in the valley where they can run training events so that local people can learn to look after their own walls.
Keith Tomkins, Churnet Valley Living Landscape Manager said "There are some really special walls in the Churnet Valley, styles based on the particular type of stone and the skills of the wallers who built them originally. We are losing many of these walls due to a lack of resources and skills, the walls are being replaced by post and barbed wire fences."
If you have a dry stone wall which is an interesting style and needs repairing and suitable for a training event the Churnet Valley Living Landscape Partnership might be interested in helping.
For more information email k.tomkins@staffs-wildlife.org.uk
If the wall is on private land and not of special public interest the project may only be able to offer part funding, but some walls may be eligible for 100% support from this project.