Volunteers needed for the Quantock Landscape Partnership Scheme

What is the QLPS?

The Quantock Landscape Partnership Scheme (QLPS) is a 5 year £2.6m project that will address the changing pressures on the Quantock Hills and surrounding parishes. Each project contributes to the long-term future of the hills by protecting, restoring and increasing understanding of the distinctive features of the Quantock landscape.

The scheme comprises 23 individual projects spanning natural history, historic heritage, education and future planning. More details of the projects can be found here. https://qlps.org/

What can you do to help?

QLPS need your help with this important project. A central part of the project is the desire to increase the capacity and skills of the volunteer base working in the area. QLPS hope to recruit more people whilst offering many more opportunities to contribute. The Covid-19 crisis has inevitably had an impact on the first year and there is some catching up to do. QLPS hopes to get the programme of community archaeology projects up and running in the summer and maybe to commence some archival work at the Somerset Heritage Centre.

In the meantime, there are several projects which lend themselves to working remotely at home, and for which the QLPS is now seeking volunteers.

LiDAR Survey.
The QLPS has commissioned a high-resolution LiDAR survey of the entire project area. For the uninitiated, LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) is a remote sensing technique which uses laser scanners, mounted on an aircraft, to produce detailed 3D maps known as Digital Terrain Models (DTMs).

The aerial survey work was completed just before Christmas and volunteers are needed who are interested in receiving training in LiDAR interpretation and helping to explore this exciting new resource for understanding the history, heritage and archaeology of the Quantocks.

Trees in the Landscape
This element focuses on how the number, size, and species of individual trees has changed over the last 200 years. Access to the archives at the Somerset Heritage Centre is not possible right now but we are seeking volunteers to begin the process of exploring the online catalogue of Estate Records.

We are also seeking volunteers, interested in using digital maps of various dates to identify changing patterns of tree use and note potentially significant, individual trees.

Full details of the various projects are available on the QLPS website: https://qlps.org/

If you are interested in assisting with any of the above roles, please contact: Dan Broadbent, Historic Heritage Officer, Quantock Landscape Partnership Scheme, [email protected]