When Storm Desmond tore through the Lake District in December 2015, it brought flooding and misery in its wake. The so-called extratropical cyclone swamped villages including Patterdale and Glenridding, pounding homes and businesses with raging water and winds of up to 80mph.
The devastation helped inspire a unique conservation project that has seen a mile-long stretch of river “re-wiggled” by the National Trust to help reduce the damage from future floods and return the landscape to how nature intended.
The river, known as Goldrill Beck, had been heavily modified over many centuries through straightening and the building of embankments – making it more akin to a canal. That meant the water gushed through it at speed.
Now it has been dug out, and given back the gentle meanders it originally had.
The initial results of letting the river flow as nature intended are showing encouraging signs since the work began two years ago.
Not only has the flow of water been slowed significantly, but when heavy rain falls, the waters spill easily into fields, re-creating an ancient flood plain, rather than pouring downstream at a rate of knots.
But the “re-wiggling” has also boosted wildlife, improving habitat for Atlantic salmon, which once thrived in Ullswater’s rivers, and letting herbs and plants flourish.
National Trust project manager Becky Powell, who began work on the project in 2017, says the catalyst for change was Storm
Desmond, which caused an estimated £500million of damage in Cumbria alone as bridges and roads were washed away. The arterial A592 road, which runs next to Goldrill Beck, had been severely undermined by flood waters.
“The road did not flood because the embankment is too high but the storm waters eroded the left hand bank and it was in danger of collapse,” explains Becky.
“There was a risk of the river cutting underneath the road. The situation gave us the opportunity to do something different.”
Hand in hand with nature
Over many centuries the river had been moved and straightened to carry water through the landscape more quickly. But experts were able to work out its original route before diggers were used to re-route it.
“We re-wiggled it, using historic channels as our guide, constructing several routes for it to follow,” continues Becky.
“The work took 12 weeks and after that it was decided to let nature do the rest.”
The results have been remarkable.
The river now curves and meanders across the land, continuously switching between channels. During heavy rain, the beck overflows easily and spills out into the flood plains, reducing the risk of floodwaters undermining critical infrastructure.
“The project has restored natural processes,” enthuses Becky.
“Now that the river is there it can do what it wants for the rest of its life as there will be no further intervention. Because the river is now flooding the floodplain properly, sediments and silts are being deposited, which breaks up the dense rush grasses, making space for smaller plants to come through. We are seeing Wild Thyme and Ragged Robin come through, which is marvellous. The land is looking more natural, more beautiful and more colourful.”
The flood plain wetlands are now almost acting as a soakaway. “We don’t want to see those fine silts getting into our lakes and bathing waters,” Becky adds.
Close monitoring has previously shown that, during floods, the flow of the river has slowed considerably and many tons of gravel and silt have been deposited around the meandering beck instead of being taken downstream.
As well as the increasing diversity of plant life, dippers and other wading birds have been spotted along with otters. It’s hoped ospreys will also return.
“Seeing the changes has been wonderful,” says Becky.
“I have a two-year-old daughter, Beth, and, hopefully, we have done something which will make life a little better for her in
the future.”
The project is one of many completed through the award-winning Cumbria River Restoration Strategy, led by the Environment Agency and Natural England. The hope is that by showcasing solutions, more rivers can be restored to benefit people and nature.
How we can save our wild isles
The National Trust, the RSPB and WWF are calling on governments to: Heed the call in the People’s Plan for Nature to take urgent action to help restore all rivers, ponds, lakes and wetlands to a healthy ecological status, and to better manage our water resources by helping consumers reduce their water use, and tackling sewage, over-abstraction and leaks; enforce existing protections for water and ensure public enforcement agencies have the resources they need to carry out this function; and reward farmers properly for creating space for nature and water alongside our rivers – for example by enabling them to maintain wide margins of land alongside our riverbanks and reduce the widespread use of fertilisers and manure.
RSPB
Across the UK, the RSPB is working to restore a vital and declining carbon sponge – wetlands. Wetlands are one of the best ways to capture carbon but more than a third of global wetlands have disappeared since 1970.
The RSPB is thinking big to “rewet” drained land, helping fight the climate crisis and giving a home to endangered species that depend upon them.
At RSPB Lakenheath, for example, in the heart of Cambridgeshire, the RSPB has been working since 1995 to transform fields into a mosaic of reedbeds, fens and grasslands. It’s now home to species such as bittern – a bird in the heron family which was driven to extinction in Britain in the 1870s (they’re also the UK’s loudest bird – their “boom” can be heard from up to three miles away!).
There are also otters, bearded tits, kingfishers and dragonflies. A recent partnership agreement between RSPB Lakenheath Fen and Morgan Sindall Group – a leading UK construction and regeneration group – is set to see the nature reserve flourish further after the completion of a nearby land acquisition securing an additional 54 hectares.
Cranes, which went extinct in the UK about 400 years ago, already use the field, and, thanks to rising water levels, the area will be more attractive to them.
Dave Rogers, senior site manager for RSPB Lakenheath Fen, said: “Great crested grebes are looking great in their breeding plumage and some pairs have youngsters riding around on their backs – we nickname them humbugs! Many of our marsh harriers are sitting on eggs so you might see parents pass food to each other in the air.”
WWF
Seagrass in beds around the coast of Britain has two important roles: providing a habitat for various species of fish and absorbing carbon. Yet more than 90 per cent of the UK’s seagrass has been lost over the last century, partly due to coastal development, fishing and leisure boating. However, seagrass restoration work off the coast of North Wales on the Llyn Peninsula proves destruction can be reversed. Seagrass Ocean Rescue is an ambitious environmental venture managed by the World Wildlife Fund.
More than five million seagrass seeds will be planted to restore ten acres of seagrass meadow by the end of 2026. On a global scale, 2.5 acres of seagrass can support up to 40,000 fish and 50 million invertebrates.
In February, 100,000 seeds were planted off Penychain, followed by plantings on the coast of Pen Llyn. Young people from the local area are learning practical conservation skills and will soon take part in the restoration. It’s hoped this will safeguard restored seagrass meadows. They also protect against coastal erosion and improve water quality. Research has shown seagrass meadows can absorb carbon 30 times faster than some rainforests and that restoring them traps carbon dioxide.
Comment by Megan McCubbin, presenter, zoologist & WWF ambassador
I have always been drawn to the water, whether it be a river, the ocean, a lake or a puddle. It’s the mystery and unique nature of life in these ecosystems which I find so fascinating.
Growing up, I lived near the River Itchen and loved watching out for the resident kingfisher. That stunning flash of blue would put a smile on my face for the entire week.
But UK nature is in crisis and it saddens me that now 60 per cent of our freshwater and wetland species are already in decline, and 13 per cent are already at risk of extinction in the UK, including the Atlantic salmon, European eel and white-clawed crayfish. It’s wastewater treatment and the run-off from intensive farms that are the biggest polluters of our waterways.
However, I do believe there is hope. Nature is very resilient, and it can recover. We once lost beavers from the UK altogether, but now they’re back, building dams and reshaping whole freshwater systems – helping plants, insects, fish and birds to thrive. Similarly, we can bring our freshwater habitats back from the brink with proper funding, by enforcing the law, by prosecuting polluters, and by supporting farmers to adopt more nature-friendly methods.
Ultimately, the most important tool we have as individuals is our voice. I would love to see more people talking to their MPs around the country and encouraging change from our leaders.
We have a long way to go for our policies to catch up, particularly when it comes to the management of our waterways and rivers. We must protect our rivers and the wildlife that depends on them if we are to save our wild isles.
