| Administrative History | Formally known as the Lower Derwent Valley Landscape Partnership, the DerwentWISE project was run by a partnership of fifteen local and national organisations, and hosted by Derbyshire Wildlife Trust. The project partners were: Amber Valley Borough Council. Amber Valley Centre for Voluntary Services, Arkwright Society, Derby City Council, Derbyshire County Council, Derbyshire Dales District Council, University of Derby, Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site Partnership, Historic England, Environment Agency, Fleet Arts, Forestry Commission, Natural England and the National Stone Centre, with the National Farmers Union as a supporting member.
DerwentWISE was a Heritage Lottery funded project delivered by a a group of organisations who collectively had a vision of “A future where the landscape of the Lower Derwent Valley is valued as much for its natural and cultural heritage as for its beauty, and where local people have the knowledge and skills to look after it for future generations to enjoy.” In September 2013, the partnership was awarded £1.7 million for the DerwentWISE project, with further funds (£0.8 million) sourced through partner organisations. From July 2014, individual projects across the Lower Derwent Valley worked to improve and restore the landscape, and inspire people about the natural and cultural heritage in the area. For example, training hundreds of volunteers to go out and survey heritage features and many others to carry out practical conservation work. This enabled improvements to woodlands, planting of meadows and updates to the Historic Environment Records (HER).
The Lower Derwent Valley is located pretty much in the middle of Derbyshire. It is the area that runs along the River Derwent between Matlock Bath and the top of Derby City. It is roughly the area that surrounds the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site. The area is special because of its internationally important ancient woodlands, pre-industrial archaeology, diverse geology or species-rich meadows. |
| Custodial History | These records were deposited on behalf of the DerwentWISE Project by the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust (the project's host partner) in April 2019. |