Protecting a Hidden Landscape beside the Ribble
The Preston Wilderness Project is a landscape protection and nature recovery initiative focused on the floodplain and woodland environments on the north bank of the River Ribble, opposite Walton-le-Dale.
Although lying within the Preston boundary, this area forms part of the same wider river landscape that shapes Walton-le-Dale itself. The floodplain at Fishwick, together with its wet woodland edges and nearby ancient woodland corridors, forms an important ecological network along the Ribble valley.
The project brings together local knowledge, ecological research and community collaboration to help protect and better understand this landscape.
Floodplain habitats, riverside woodland and long-established woodland corridors provide vital support for wildlife and contribute to flood management, biodiversity and environmental resilience. Landscapes of this type are increasingly rare within urban areas, yet they remain essential to both wildlife and public wellbeing.
The aim of the initiative is to help ensure that these landscapes are recognised, studied and managed in ways that protect their long-term ecological value.
Without awareness and careful stewardship, environments like this can easily be lost through gradual fragmentation and development pressure. Once damaged or removed, such landscapes are extremely difficult to restore.
Find out more: https://www.prestonwilderness.org