Floodplain restoration project to bring endangered wildlife back to Bucks farm
New freshwater and wetland habitats are being created on a 220-acre organic farm near Aylesbury.
Wildlife is set to benefit from a major floodplain restoration project, which could bring back rare and endangered wetland plants and animals to a farm in Buckinghamshire.
Freshwater Habitats Trust and River Thame Conservation Trust have joined forces with farmer Rose Dale to create new freshwater and wetland habitats on her 220-acre organic farm in Chearsley, near Aylesbury.
Work has begun on the site to create a ‘floodplain wetland mosaic’ habitat, which will include 15 new seasonal and permanent ponds and a backwater channel connected to the River Thame.
Co-hosts of the River Thame Catchment Partnership, Freshwater Habitats Trust and River Thame Conservation Trust are restoring floodplains to help reverse the decline of freshwater wildlife and contributing to the creation of the Freshwater Network in Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire.
At Manor Farm, the team has developed a complex of clean, unpolluted, freshwater ponds and shallow pools, creating habitats which are now rare in lowland England.
Each new waterbody has a long ‘drawdown zone’ – the area which gradually dries out through the summer. This marshy habitat is the most diverse part of the ponds and supports water plants like Small Pondweed and Spiked Water-milfoil and invertebrates like the Common Darter dragonfly and the Black-bellied Diving Beetle as well as larger animals, including otters and wading birds.
The development also features a backwater, a shallow channel connected to the main river, which will provide shelter and nursery grounds for fish.
Hannah Worker of Freshwater Habitats Trust said: “It’s great to be on site and collaborating with the River Thame Conservation Trust and Rose to develop these new, high quality freshwater and wetland habitats at Manor Farm. We’re aiming to bring back species that would once have flourished here but have been entirely lost, as well as providing a range of habitats for local wildlife.
“The drought this summer highlighted the importance of having waterbodies in the landscape. Our own research has shown that increasingly the number of clean water ponds provides resilience against drought and boosts freshwater biodiversity across whole landscape. We also know that these small waterbodies can support a rich diversity of plant and animal species.
“Freshwater Habitats Trust has identified Manor Farm as being in an Important Freshwater Area. These are the places we are focusing on as we develop the Freshwater Network - a national network of wilder, cleaner, connected freshwaters. Restoring the floodplains at Manor Farm is one of our very first steps in this vital strategy, which aims to reverse the long decline of freshwater wildlife.”
Bordered by the River Thame and one of its tributaries, Chearsley Brook, Manor Farm has been in Rose Dale’s family since 1969. Rose seeks to farm regeneratively, rearing pasture-fed beef and lamb.
She said: “I’m a custodian of this lovely piece of land for just a short time so it’s important to protect it. Despite the many difficulties and stresses associated with farming, I want to go on to create a sustainable future for the farm.
“If I think back to my youth, or discuss it with my parents, it’s clear that we’ve lost a great deal of biodiversity in a short space of time and I want to nurture what’s there and try to improve it. The wetland project is a wonderful way to restore this landscape to a flourishing natural state. Since converting to an organic farm business, I have already seen exciting signs of life return to the farm and look forward to how this project will create further habitat for plants and wildlife.”