Derwentise – A Natural Partnership
As someone who specialises in environmental video production, I often get to witness how collaboration between people, landscapes, and organisations can lead to quiet but profound transformations.
A Natural Partnership, a very short film I created, documents one such moment—part of the broader DerwentWISE initiative in the Derwent Valley, Derbyshire.
DerwentWISE (Derwent Valley – Woodlands, Industry, Skills and Environment) was a major landscape partnership scheme funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and delivered by a consortium led by the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust. It ran from 2014 to 2019 and focused on conserving, celebrating, and understanding the unique natural and cultural heritage of the Lower Derwent Valley. The scheme’s impact has been wide-reaching, from restoring habitats and historic features to improving access, education, and community engagement.
In this film, we’re taken into Lea Wood and a quiet valley called The Village, where volunteers, landowners, and conservationists are working side by side to restore biodiversity and improve habitat quality. This kind of setting is ideal for environmental video production—visually rich, grounded in place, and full of meaningful human interaction.
The opening of the film centres on Lea Wood, a patch of ancient woodland that, while appearing wild and untouched, is in fact the product of centuries of human management. Timber extraction and woodland craft have shaped the structure of this habitat, creating layers of history and a surprisingly rich ecosystem. One of the standout species here is the northern hairy wood ant—locally abundant in this woodland, but nationally rare. Thanks to targeted habitat work, including the clearance of invasive rhododendron, their nests are not only surviving but spreading.
One contributor in the film says:
“To look at the amount we have here, you’d think they were incredibly common. In fact, they’re just locally abundant. But this is a really great site for them.”
That moment speaks to the value of targeted local action—a recurring theme in DerwentWISE, and one I try to highlight through environmental video production. These stories don’t need grand narration or spectacle. The quiet, specific care of people for a place is compelling enough.
The second half of the film brings us to a privately owned meadow in The Village, where conservation volunteers are working to restore balance. Overgrown scrub—bramble, hawthorn, ash—had taken over parts of the field, threatening the diversity of wildflowers. With support from the DerwentWISE team, volunteers were able to come in and open up the space, giving light and space back to the native flora.
A volunteer reflects:
“We’re here to kind of have a big group of people having a big effect in one day… Stewardship schemes are ten years for a reason.”
This long-term view is crucial. One of the biggest challenges in Derwent Valley conservation is ensuring that the next generation of landowners and communities are equipped, supported, and motivated to continue this care. That’s where film can play a role—helping to share stories, explain the value of these efforts, and inspire others to get involved.
For me, the heart of A Natural Partnership lies in this sentiment:
“It’s nice to leave things better than how we found them… so we can come back in ten years and show our kids.”
That line gets to the emotional core of the work—legacy, care, and the simple satisfaction of making a small piece of the world better. It’s these kinds of moments that make environmental video production more than just a technical task. It’s about holding up a mirror to meaningful action and making it visible to others.
Watch the film to see what partnership, patience, and place-based conservation look like in action.
If you’re interested in environmental video production or want to document a landscape, conservation or heritage project, I’d love to hear from you.
🌿 More of my environmental and heritage films:
👉 https://alanfentiman.co.uk/vimeo-videos/nature-films/
📍 Find out more about DerwentWISE and Derwent Valley conservation:
👉 https://www.derbyshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/derwentwise