Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, which includes a huge swathe of the Shotley peninsula, has been given a £129,000 present to help celebrate its 50th anniversary.

David Wood, chairman of Suffolk Coast and Heaths AONB, announced the grant, to be shared with Dedham Vale's AONB, at an hour-long anniversary launch at the Royal Harwich Yacht Club in Woolverstone.

Cllr Wood said: "We celebrate the 50th year since the designation of the Suffolk Coast & Heaths AONB at a crucial time.

"The recently endorsed 'Colchester Declaration' sets out how the AONB network will seek to mitigate the impacts of climate change and wildlife decline.

"This grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund will allow us to deliver projects that not only celebrate 50 years but help to ensure this national landscape is conserved and enhanced for all."

The joint application from the Suffolk Coast & Heaths and Dedham Vale AONBs is one of 15 to be awarded a share of £7.4million from the National Lottery.

The project will celebrate the 50th anniversary of both areas, which were formally designated in 1970, and will encourage residents and visitors to connect people with the landscape, raising awareness of the special qualities of the AONBs and the track the changes to the landscape through a photography initiative.

Simon Amstutz, Manager of AONB staff team said: "This is the first time the National Lottery Heritage Fund has awarded us a grant to work across the two national landscapes in Essex and Suffolk.

"The grant will enable us to work with the local community, visitors and businesses to conserve and enhance these wonderful areas."

The Suffolk Coast & Heaths AONB is made up of largely tranquil and unspoilt landscape with wildlife-rich estuaries, ancient heaths, windswept shingle beaches and historic towns and villages, while the Dedham Vale is characterised by a lowland English river valley landscape with significant cultural heritage made famous by artists including Constable and Gainsborough.

The photography initiative will see the installation of fixed-point photography posts across both AONBs and visitors will be invited to share their photographs on a dedicated website with the aim of building a unique record of the changing landscapes through the seasons over the next five years.

Since 1994, the National Lottery has invested £829million into nature and wildlife projects and this round of funding will help threatened species and habitats – from the seas of the Northern Isles to parkland in Devon.

Drew Bennellick, Head of Land and Nature Policy at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: "Urgent action is needed to help nature recover.

"National Lottery funding is creating incredible opportunities for people to take such action for species under threat and, crucially, equipping a new generation with the skills and passions to make a real difference for the future of our natural world."