History of the Brecks
The Brecks is one of the great natural areas of Britain with a human history dating right back to the earliest human settlements.
Everything about the Brecks is set against a geological backdrop of millions of years of environmental change. Chalk depositions 90 million years ago were fundamental - up to 8% of global chalk streams are estimated to be in the Brecks. Wind, ice and water have all shaped the landscape we see today.
Human intervention and disturbance of the soil have been integral to the development of Nature in the Brecks. Our project recognises and builds upon this fundamental interplay between humans and nature in this remarkable landscape.
40% of the area is now covered by a national nature conservation designation. But in recent times conservation efforts have neglected to address the loss of the open-field-fallow mosaic, despite some species-focused programmes (e.g. Stone Curlew). Agricultural schemes have provided limited support for scarce arable flora and ruderal invertebrates on field margins.
Our plan provides a holistic and sustainable approach for long term ecosystem recovery.
Seabrook’s Year
Get a sense of what rural life was like in the Brecks in the 1980s in this brilliant BBC series “Seabrook’s Year” – in Episode Two you’ll even see our lead farmer, Richard Evans, talking about how he got started