Welcome to our first Essex Rivers Hub Catchment Partnership Newsletter! |
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As Catchment Partnership Hosts, the Essex and Suffolk Rivers Trust (ESRT) have compiled this summer newsletter to share updates from our partners in the catchment and keep you all up to date with what is happening. We hope you enjoy it. |
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An Update from ESRT We are pleased to introduce a new member of our team – Jess Duckenfield – who joined the ESRT in October 2021; many of you may have met her at the last Essex Rivers Hub meeting. Jess studied at the UEA and was awarded a BSc.(Hons) in Wildlife Management and Conservation and is now completing her part-time studies for an MSc. in Biodiversity, Wildlife and Ecosystem Health. Jess is a welcomed boost to our support team. Sadly, we have to say goodbye to Brendan Joyce OBE as Director. I’m sure you are all aware, Brendan has been poorly for some time, and he has made the difficult decision to stand down to allow the ESRT to continue to develop and achieve under new management. Please join me in expressing our sincere thanks to Brendan for all he has done for the East Suffolk and Essex Catchment Partnerships and for the Essex and Suffolk Rivers Trust. We wish you well and an enjoyable future. Interviews have been completed for the new Director, and I am pleased to announce that Helen Dangerfield has accepted the ESRT Directorship and will be starting in September. We also say goodbye to Katie Phillips, our Administration Support Officer, who has been a pillar of support for the ESRT over the last 18 months. We wish Katie well for her future. |
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In November 2021, the ESRT completed the final field elements for the Topsoil Layer Brook project, delivered in partnership with the Environment Agency, Essex and Suffolk Water and Interreg (North Sea) Topsoil, for the Layer Brook catchment, a water source for Abberton Reservoir. The project investigated surface run-off and sediment transfer into Abberton Reservoir from the lands within the Layer Brook catchment. The final elements included the installation of a series of leaky woody structures at points identified by the wider investigation, to help alleviate sediment transfer and slow the flow. The project was well received by the landowners, who all supported and engaged with the delivery of this project. |
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We are currently working closely with the Environment Agency and Woodland Trust to investigate the potential improvement of riparian lands at Fiddler’s Hill on the River Colne. The project is very much in it’s infancy, but we hope partnership working will enable the formulation of a project that will benefit and address local flooding and improve riparian habitats for wildlife. We have also been successful in our bid with Essex and Suffolk Water for Branch-Out funding to deliver the Essex Crayfish Project; eDNA Assessment of white-clawed and INNS crayfish. This project will use eDNA monitoring to identify the presence of both our native white-clawed crayfish and the highly invasive American signal crayfish at historic sites known for the presence of our native crayfish species. This work is being delivered in partnership with the Environment Agency, and other catchment partners, to help update our knowledge of any remaining native crayfish populations, which in turn will help inform the Crayfish Strategy on any further mitigations and protections needed. |
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We are very much looking forward to continuing to host the ERH catchment partnership under new leadership, working with our partners to develop new relationships and grow existing partnerships to promote the Catchment-Based Approach. |
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The Essex Forestry Initiative Investment: £1million to benefit the county’s environment over five years. Project aims: Carbon offsetting, increasing biodiversity net gain, reducing flood risk and improving air quality. How can this be achieved? This will be achieved by planting 375,000 trees. - New native woodlands - provide new invaluable habitats for wildlife; increase in biodiversity; less flood risk from heavy rains; more shade in hot summers; green spaces for the community.
- 1st year: exceeded the planting target of 25,000. One of the biggest sites included is now growing 13,700 young trees along the River Chelmer. More than 5,000 new trees are also spread around Essex Country Parks including Weald, Great Notley, Belhus Woods, Danbury, Cudmore Grove, Marsh Farm and Thorndon.
- 2nd year: exceeded the planting target of 50,000. Year 2 plantings covered more than 50 hectares across Essex, including an area of more than 6 hectares at Ramsey where 14,333 trees were planted. This site will improve water vole habitat and prevent flooding downstream of Dovercourt Dock river.
- The Essex Forest Initiative is now on its 3rd year working towards the target of planting 75,000 trees in urban as well as rural areas, working with partners such as the Green Big Internet and The Conservation Volunteers to deliver the best woodland creation projects.
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Catchment Sensitive Farming |
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Hello, my name is Andrew Warwick and I am the new Catchment Sensitive Farming Advisor (CSFA) for South Essex and the southern part of combined Essex (the Blackwater and Chelmer). To provide a brief description of the CSFA role it is working with the agricultural sector to “improve the quality of air, water, and supports the use of nature-based solutions to improve sustainable water management.” A portion of this involves trying to reduce nitrate, phosphate, sediment, and pesticide pollution. There is a lot of overlap with the above goals and your projects such as Topsoil. I thought it would be good to introduce myself due to the goals shared with the Essex and Suffolk Rivers Trust. I am looking forward to working with you to help with your goal of “Conservation, Protection, and Rehabilitation of Suffolk and Essex Waterways” and to see if I can be of assistance with your current projects. If I can be of help you can reach me by email Andrew.warwick@naturalengland.org.uk and mobile number is 07584 546220. I look forward to hearing from you. |
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Field to Tap – New farming and water initiative Essex & Suffolk Water are pleased to announce that our new farming and water initiative which aims to address a number of water quality challenges at our water treatment works has been launched under the name Field to Tap in the River Stour, Layer Brook and Roman River catchment areas. We aim to provide financial support for farmers and land owners to implement solutions that will benefit farming, improve water quality and support wider environmental improvements such as biodiversity enhancement and habitat improvement. Field to Tap will focus on four key areas: In the yard - This is the hub of farming operations, making it high risk as a point source of water pollution. There are a range of measures which can be undertaken in the farmyard to tackle both pesticide and nutrient risk including, clean and dirty water separation (concreting, roofing, guttering and piping), bunded and / or covered sprayer filling areas, management of sprayer washings using biofilters or biobeds, installing rainwater harvesting and the improved storage and management of manures and slurry. In the field - Fields are the main source of water that feeds our rivers, lakes, reservoirs and groundwater. The way they are managed can have a huge impact on the quality of water leaving them as drainage or run-off. In-field mitigation options can minimise the impacts on this water from pesticides, nutrients and sediments and include silt traps, sediment ponds, bunds, buffer strips, tree planting, cover crops, arable reversion, watercourse fencing and water troughs. Soil management - There is ‘no one size fits all’ approach to improving soil health, but there is no doubt that well-structured and healthy soil will retain nutrients and moisture for crop growth and minimise the risk of water logging, compaction and leaching. Field to Tap can provide specialist visits to discuss your soil and make an assessment of soil health, following which further funding may be available to introduce or expand the use of cover crops or the uptake of precision farming techniques. Farming precisely - As technology advances, the accuracy of GPS has increased and its cost has reduced. This has made many of the practices associated with ‘precision farming’ both practically achievable and financially viable. Funding is available to enable or improve the uptake of precision farming technologies and the variable rate application of pesticides and nutrients. I am interested in hearing your ideas and working with you to identify features on your farm which might pose a risk to water quality and identify potential solutions and grant funding to make improvements. I may also be able to offer bespoke support for innovative approaches that could address water quality issues. Our grant funding is limited and will be prioritised in areas where we can deliver clear improvements to address our water quality challenges and ideally also deliver additional environmental benefits. If you would like to take up the offer of a visit or find out more about our Field to Tap programme, please contact me directly at stephen.derbyshire@nwl.co.uk |
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Essex Wildlife Trust has been working in conjunction with the Thames Estuary Partnership and the Environment Agency to create The Essex Fish Migration Roadmap, which has identified over 400 barriers to fish migration across the county. Migratory fish species move between the freshwater and marine environment as they spend different stages of their life cycle in different habitats. Barriers such as weirs, locks, sluices, mills and flood control structures can cut them off from suitable spawning sites, affecting their diversity and populations while also putting them at a greater risk to pollution events. The roadmap, which has been launched on Essex Wildlife Trust's website, uses GIS to show where these barriers have made sections of rivers closed to navigating fish and eels in red, and sections where it is open in green. Through the Essex Fish Migration Roadmap project Essex Wildlife Trust and its partners are aiming to turn the map from red to green, and open up our rivers for migrating fish by focussing on a 'whole system' approach and prioritising strategic actions. |
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The Essex Local Nature Partnership |
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The Essex Local Nature Partnership, May 2022 Support for wildlife, improved and increased access to green spaces and an extra push towards net zero in Essex: these are just some of the opportunities presented by the creation of the new independent Local Nature Partnership for Essex (LNP). The LNP has now officially been launched by Essex County Council (ECC). - The LNP brings together local organisations, communities, businesses, and people who want to improve their local natural environment.
- In a climate crisis, it is imperative that we prevent further loss of biodiversity and start reversing the decline. After identifying the needs and priorities for Essex, the LNP Board agreed upon 4 targets that the LNP will work towards by 2030.
- With the expertise, knowledge and experience of our partners, the LNP aims to produce positive outcomes that integrate the needs of nature, people and the economy.
- We look forward to making progress as a partnership, helping the county on its journey to net zero, increasing natural green space and improving access, as well as enhancing the health and wellbeing opportunities of all Essex residents.
- To keep up to date with the progress of the LNP, to read more about the LNP targets or to find out more, visit our webpage: https://www.essexclimate.org.uk/local-nature-partnership
- Further reading on Local Nature Partnerships, can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/map-of-local-nature-partnerships
- If you have any questions of queries, please get in touch with ECC’s Local Nature Recovery Coordinator, Helena Taylor: helena.taylor@essex.gov.uk
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This water trade pilot project has been extended until December 2022. Your chance to influence the future for water abstraction. Being involved is totally free! The water trade pilot project that started in December 2020, covering all of Suffolk and most of Essex, Cambridge and Norfolk has just been extended until December 2022. This is good news for abstractors, farmers and landowners in these water-stressed areas. All water abstractors, farmers and other large users of water are being encouraged to continue with their involvement in the pilot project or, if they have not done so already, to register on the Wheatley Watersource platform and get involved. You do not have to be a licensed water abstractor, if you have a storage reservoir or use large volumes of water but not for drinking e.g., garden centre or golf course irrigation and are interested in exploring alternate cheaper and more sustainable sources then this pilot project is also for you. You can register on this free to use platform: https://www.wheatleywatersource.co.uk Wheatley Watersource has received support from the Environment Agency, Defra, Essex & Suffolk Water, Anglian Water, Water Resources East, regional groups, abstractors and wildlife organisations. |
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Our next newsletter will be out in the winter |
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Please send your articles, news and pictures to us at info@essexsuffolkriverstrust.org |
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