We are honoured to announce that Hills to Levels has been selected as a finalist for the 2018 UK River Prize. The UK River Prize celebrates the achievements of those individuals and organisations working to improve our rivers and catchments, and recognises the benefits to society of having a healthy natural environment.

After much deliberation by the judges, Hills to Levels was selected as the finalist for the category: Catchment-scale project, Demonstrating a whole river approach to restoration. Hills to Levels is a holistic catchment management approach across catchments in Somerset, aiming to ‘slow the flow’ to reduce flood risk, reduce erosion, improve water quality, deliver wider environmental benefits and increase resilience on the floodplain. The idea is that a lot of small-scale interventions will have an effect at the large catchment scale with the motto that ‘every field, every farm, every stream has its part to play in flooding and water quality’. Hills to Levels is part of the delivery team of the land management workstream of the Somerset 20 -Year Flood Action Plan.

Hills to Levels has gained recent attention, with the project being discussed within the Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan which came out at the start of the year, as well as winning the Duncan Huggett Award for the Environment earlier this month.

The overall 2018 UK River Prize winner will be presented with the Nigel Holmes Trophy, which will be announced on the 24^th April 2018. We will keep you updated!