In September 2024, we worked with Forestry England along the river bank in key locations at Cardinham Woods to improve habitat for fish, invertebrates and riparian species.

Muddy surface water runs into the river because of bare soils and eroded channels. Habitat works will help to restore the function of the floodplain

This work is also intended to reduce pollution from sediment entering the river and help to improve the function of the floodplain in soaking up water, reducing the severity of flood events.

Developing wet woodland with a single age stand of willows that will be coppiced to create more diversity of structure and more light into the ground layer.

We felled, coppiced and pollarded some riverside trees. This allows more light in, encouraging the growth of ground level vegetation which acts as a buffer for pollution running off the land, and provides food and shelter for wildlife. The more varied structure of the woodland managed in this way creates niches for different species. We avoided the felling of large trees and those with potential to host bat roosts.

The cut material has been used on the site to re-direct and slow flows of water, partially block ditches and increase dead wood and woody habitat within the watercourse itself. This helps reconnect the floodplain with the river and supports the development of a special wet woodland habitat, including species such as willow, alder and hazel.

Carrying out these interventions at this tme reduced the risk of disturbing nesting birds, breeding bats, dormouse, and salmon and trout spawning sites. Ecological checks have been carried out prior to and during the works.

Further images of the work in progress:

Reseach Fellow Rupert Goddard from the University of Plymouth’s Sustainable Earth Institute shares a film about the water level sensors he has put in place upstream of our Natural Flood Management work at Cardinham Woods.

These will monitor the effectiveness of our interventions at slowing the flow of water.

We are also encouraging volunteer citizen scientists to get involved with the project by taking images from a smartphone cradle opposite the water level monitoring site.

The photos gathered can be sent to the team via [email protected] and will be put into a machine learning algorithm to automate reading the depth of the river. The more we know about our local rivers, the more resilient we can become as communities.

Watch the film at: https://youtu.be/DjUpMTQhvEE?si=cepkBn5KobApsvUN