River restoration making a splash!

A project which aims to improve the water quality and wildlife of a Westcountry river has made a splash in East Devon. The project is a joint initiative between Devon Wildlife Trust and the Sid Vale Association. It is based on a six mile stretch (plus tributaries ) of the beautiful and popular River Sid upstream from Sidmouth. Devon Wildlife Trust's Scott West is leading the project: 'Many people know and love the River Sid. It's somewhere that local communities walk, play and live beside. It's also a key component of what brings tourists to this wonderful part of the world. What the project is aiming to do is to ensure that the river remains as a special place for and people and wildlife. That means looking after its water quality and making sure that it can continue to support a wide diversity of life.' After six months of the project Scott has certainly got to know the river intimately having achieved an impressive amount of work which has included:

• Walking the entire length of the river and its main tributaries , not using its banks but actually in the river in waders! 
• Taking surveys of invertebrate life (typically mayflies and waterbugs) from along the river as a means of evaluating its water quality status. 
• Conducting a series of 'electro-fishing' surveys of the river - whereby fish are temporarily immobilised by an electric current (this is only done under consent by the Environment Agency). 
• Consulting with and advising ten local major landowners regarding land management and its impact on the river 

Scott underlined the project's potential 'It's also an opportunity to see how positive management on the Sid can lead to healthier rivers not just here but across East Devon. We plan to take the lessons learned on this one small river catchment working with local landowners and enhancing riverside habitats and then apply them to other rivers.' The River Sid already supports an amazing amount of wildlife including such iconic species as kingfishers, otters, brown trout and damselflies, but Scott believes it could to support more. Scott said, 'This river has the potential to support other well-known but threatened species, perhaps the best example would be migrating Atlantic salmon. This river and other rivers like it would once have contained good numbers of salmon. Local people recall seeing them in years past. Our ambition is that the Sid and its neighbouring rivers might one day support species like this again.' The project is not only targeting the lives of the rivers wildlife, instead it is also engaging local communities through an ambitious education programme. Devon Wildlife Trust's Education Officer Paul Martin has been working with two local schools - Sidbury Primary and Sidmouth Primary - on a series of 'river days'. Paul explained: 'On river days we take groups of local children out to the River Sid. We assign them stretches of the river and ask them to explore them recording the wildlife that they find. The idea behind the visits is to get the children more familiar with their local river, to appreciate its beauty and to learn about the wonderful life it supports. The children certainly seemed to have enjoyed the experience!' The project's encouraging start bodes well for its next phase. Scott West explained, 'These initial months have been about understanding the river, its wildlife and the pressures upon it. It's also been about recognising the potential areas in which good local management can make a really positive impact. The next steps are threefold. First, to offer clear advice to local landowners on how they can play their part. Second, to address some of the physical barriers which face migrating fish, so for example introducing fish passes (ladders or pools) to help them overcome weirs. And lastly, to restore habitats along the river's banks - one special area we hope to tackle is the introduction of fencing to prevent cattle from entering the river.' 

Photo: Kingfishers are just one of the species being helped on the River
Sid. Copyright Chris Root

Reptile restoration work making a difference

A leading South West charity is working hard to improve the lot of the region's reptiles and amphibians. Species including adders and common frogs, slow worms and toads may not always enjoy the best public profile but, says Devon Wildlife Trust, they are a vital part of our wildlife and one which faces an uncertain future. Over the past 18 months The Trust has set about improving several of its own nature reserves specifically to cater for the needs of these special animals. Thanks to generous funding from Biffa Award - a multi-million pound fund which awards grants to community and environmental projects across the UK - work involving Devon Wildlife Trust and its volunteers has been taking place at the charity's land at Bovey Heathfield and Chudleigh Knighton Heath nature reserves (both close to Bovey Tracey), and Lickham Common and Ashculm Turbary nature reserves in the Blackdown Hills. Devon Wildlife Trust's Steve Hussey commented: 'We are concentrating our efforts on reserves where we know there are existing populations of amphibians and reptiles. What we've been doing is ensuring that we can offer them tip-top conditions in which to flourish.' 

The work for reptiles and amphibians has included: 

• Digging two new ponds, while improving seven others. The ponds are providing homes and breeding places for amphibians including frogs, toads and newts, as well as hunting places for grass snakes. 
• The installation of ten artificial hibernation (known as 'hibernaculum') nests to allow reptiles including sand lizards, adders and grass snakes to survive the cold winter weather. 
• The construction using decomposing plant material of three heaps which provide egg laying places for grass snakes.
• Bracken clearance and scrub removal at each of the four nature reserves designed at checking the spread of plants which threaten to shade out areas used by reptiles to bask in. 

The effectiveness of the project is being monitored through a series of surveys. These surveys should provide an accurate picture of the distribution of reptiles and amphibians on the four nature reserves, as well as revealing how effective the work has been in encouraging rises in their numbers. Steve Hussey commented: 'It's still quite early in the project to draw firm conclusions about how much difference we are making, but the signs are encouraging. At Bovey Heathfield nature reserve, for example, one recent survey revealed large numbers of smooth newts in a pond which had been re-dug by the project team.' Steve continued: 'The winter ahead will see further work done for reptiles and amphibians on Devon Wildlife Trust nature reserves. We're delighted that funding from Biffa Award is allowing us to make a positive difference to such well-known but struggling species as adders and toads.'

Photo: Common Lizard copyright Chris Root

Charity receives vital backing for Dartmoor project

Leading conservation charity Devon Wildlife Trust is celebrating the news that it has received a £38,000 funding boost from SITA Trust to support its Emsworthy Mire Restoration Project. Emsworthy Mire forms part of Devon Wildlife Trust's beautiful Emsworthy nature reserve. The reserve sits between Haytor and Widecombe-in the-Moor, in the heart of Dartmoor. It is a very popular spot with walkers and other visitors. Emsworthy's Mire is a particularly good example of a valley mire: areas of water-logged deep peat in valley bottoms with characteristic acid wetland plant communities. The valley mires on Dartmoor, including Emsworthy's, are of international importance to wildlife and are of high quality with many rare plants. Devon Wildlife Trust's Steve Hussey said: 'Emsworthy's mire is especially rich in wildlife. Some of the characteristic plant species which are supported there are bog asphodel, round-leaved sundew, pale butterwort, bog bean, cotton grass and marsh lousewort. In summer, the mire is home to many dragonflies and other insects including keeled skimmers and the rare marsh fritillary butterfly. In winter, it is wading birds such as snipe and golden plover that visitors will see.' However, the mire and its plant and animal communities are at risk because it borders semi-natural grassland and open moorland grazed by livestock. Stone walls and fence boundaries which once kept livestock well away from the mire have fallen into disrepair and this has led to the site being over-grazed and its condition has deteriorated. Now, funding from SITA Trust will allow Devon Wildlife Trust to restore the valley mire. Specifically it will allow: 

• Re-building and repair of the historically important dry stone walls between the mire and surrounding fields 
• Installation of new fencing along the mire's other boundaries 
• Control of encroaching scrub woodland 

Steve Hussey added: 'These works will allow grazing levels in the mire to be fully controlled so that the sensitive wetland plants can recover. It will also allow us to promote the growth and spread of the plant Devil's-bit scabious which supports two of the nature reserve's rarest inhabitants, the marsh fritillary and the narrow-bordered bee hawkmoth.' Marek Gordon CEO and Chairman of SITA Trust added 'We are delighted to have been able to support this project through the Landfill Communities Fund. This important source of funding has been available since 1997 and has provided such worthy projects with more than £1.2 billion.' SITA Trust provides funding through the Landfill Communities Fund. Funding is available for projects that enhance communities and enrich nature.

 'Devon Wildlife Trust's beautiful Emsworthy nature reserve on Dartmoor is set to see a make-over' - Photo copyright Simon Williams.