A PROJECT that will help reduce the pollution in the Forest of Bowland has received a cash boost.

Environmental charity the Ribble Rivers Trust has been awarded £2,000 by the Sustainable Development Fund of the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty towards the cost of training environmental land managers and advisors.

The training is being delivered as part of the Ribble Catchment Partnership’s first collaborative project, “Ribble Life together” after also receiving a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The project is seeking ways to improve Ribble Valley rivers and the wider environment.

A spokesman from the Ribble Rivers Trust said: “A number of rivers and streams in the Forest of Bowland are currently suffering from poor water quality.

“This training aims to plug the skills gap by increasing awareness and understanding of water pollution from agriculture and helping professionals to identify measures that reduce pollution so that they can better engage with farmers with a view to improving the quality of the rivers and streams within the AONB.

“Measures to reduce agricultural pollution often result in the creation of habitat, which is beneficial to wildlife including birds, mammals, fish and invertebrates.

“It is also important that the measures employed benefit the farm business by improving infrastructure or allowing the farmer to access grants.”

The Forest of Bowland’s Sustainable Development Fund is a grant scheme that supports projects that bring environmental, social and economic benefits to the Forest of Bowland.

The Sustainable Development Fund (SDF) is awarded as grants to projects that protect, conserve and enhance the landscape, heritage and wildlife of this area of outstanding natural beauty and encourage people to enjoy it in a sustainable way.

The training course will be held in November and will include visits to farms within the areaas part of the training.

The trust is asking for any environmental or agricultural professionals who are interested in increasing their understanding of measures to prevent water pollution to e-mail ribblelife@ribbletrust.com.