Prehistoric walk at Rickmansworth Aquadrome with experts

Chalk Tales and Fossil Trails, a guided walk and workshop in Rickmansworth, will explore ancient life forms and rare habitats that exist in the area.

Led by Three Rivers District Council, the event will take place at the Aquadrome and highlight the significance of the chalk valley landscape.

Cllr Chris Lloyd, lead member for leisure at Three Rivers District Council, said: "Rickmansworth has been known to be inhabited since the Ice Age but going back further to what prehistoric organisms lived here and how they lived before man is very fascinating.

"Hertfordshire is home to 10 per cent of the worlds chalk streams and attracts rich and diverse wildlife. The council has done some amazing work to protect and restore this rare habitat in the district, but education is key so the wider public understand why it is vital that these chalk streams must stay healthy and strong.

"This guided walk and workshop, I am sure, will be a fun and educational day out. Thank you to the officers and National Lottery Players for making this event possible."

The guided walk will take place at the Rickmansworth Aquadrome on October 10, from 10.30am to 12pm. It will be led by Lewis, a palynologist who studies microfossils, and Andrea and Jason, both nannopaleontologists from geoscience company Petrostat.

They specialise in the study of minute calcareous fossils that form part of the chalk landscape.

A workshop titled The Microfossil Lab: Chalk and Fossils Under the Microscope will follow at Batchworth Canal Centre from 1pm to 3pm. It will give attendees the chance to examine microfossils and learn how they connect to the chalk formations at the Aquadrome.

The River Colne, a globally rare chalk stream, runs through the Aquadrome.

Hertfordshire is home to 10 per cent of the worlds chalk streams, underlining the importance of conserving these habitats. Both events must be booked separately.