Short-Eared Owl - Danny Green/2020VISION
Dedham Mill, on the River Stour, has been a barrier to fish migration for centuries. A weir at the top of this channel prevented many fish from passing through. To overcome this, our Rivers Team installed an eel and fish pass on the structure.
Completed fish pass before water levels were restored.
By lowering the centre of the weir and installing oak bars with gaps in, we created a series of water-filled steps for fish to swim through. In addition, black tiles with a forest of toothlike stipples now allow eels to wriggle their way up and continue their migration. This is just the first of many such passes that we will be working on over the next decade, attempting to reconnect these natural fish highways from source to sea and turning the Essex Fish Migration Roadmap from red to green.
Together with Butterfly Conservation and Southend Borough Council, our Conservation Team and dedicated volunteers have been hard at work at Hadleigh Great Wood. The project aims to recover habitat for the heath fritillary’s favourite food source, cow wheat, and create coppiced areas of wide, open glades for them to feed and breed. Heath fritillary butterflies are sadly one of the rarest butterflies in the UK, often referred to as ‘woodman’s follower’.
Our Conservation Team says: “We're getting there. Volunteers who have met most weeks in autumn and winter with the aim of maintaining and improving the habitat for the heath fritillary butterfly habitats and the diversity of flora and fauna in our beautiful ancient woodland, are pleased with the progress.”
We hope that spring sees wildflowers, particularly cow wheat, thriving at this site.
Heath Fritillary
There has been plenty of action at Chafford Gorges Nature Discovery Park this month, not least the exciting addition of two curious voles to the volunteering party! In the winter, the team carry out the labour-intensive tasks of brush cutting and clearing scrub. It’s all about restoration and safety at this time of year, as the team have been re-installing damaged fencing on site too. A big shout out to our volunteer litter pickers who have been helping the team keep Chafford tidy, we couldn’t do it without you!
A new type of 'vole'-unteer
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