As many of you know, these first years at Strawberry Hill have focused on learning through observation. There are five ponds on site, each with its own unique characteristics but all relatively overgrown and shaded.

Alongside the ponds there is a network of ditches and drains which were designed to carry water off the landscape and away from the farmland. Most notable among these waterways is a stream that flows through a grassland corridor in the centre of the site, flanked on its banks by a string of mature willow trees. As such, it is now affectionately (if not officially) known as the Willow Stream.

Over several years we observed that this gently meandering stream can at times fill with a torrent of flood water (figure 2), quickly draining from the local landscape after periods of high rainfall. It is this characteristic, often described as a ‘flashy’ waterway, that piqued our interest back in 2023. It occurred to us that huge volumes of water were passing through the landscape at Strawberry Hill, only to be flushed, at speed, downstream toward the neighbouring village of Riseley. During these periods of high flow, we observed how natural dams, created by fallen branches and caught debris, resulted in the formation of transitional wetland areas within the scrubby grassland.  These natural dams demonstrated how a minor event in nature, such as a branch falling into the stream channel, could periodically change the surrounding habitats, creating new niches and ecological opportunities for any number of different species.  

It is this concept of interrupting the flow of water through the site to create new and useful habitats that has captured the imagination of our team. We are particularly interested in developing ways to hold back some of the water that quickly passes through the site during flood events to increase the availability of water throughout the year and increase the diversity of wetland habitats throughout the seasons.  With this in mind, two members of staff from the highly skilled team at the River Restoration Centre (RRC) visited with us on site one (very) soggy February morning. The team at RRC provide expert advice for best practice river restoration and were an ideal first port of call when developing an evidence-based approach towards our management of the stream at Strawberry Hill.

The RRC agreed that our stream had great potential for management intervention, with high flow rates evident during their visit. During the visit we walked the length of the stream and the RRC helped us highlight those areas where intervention might have the greatest impact on the landscape, while also taking into account existing habitats and public rights of way. We discussed ways in which we could hold back and divert water during flood events to encourage the stream to engineer new back waters and side pools, creating a diversity of wetland habitats. Techniques might include installing leaky dams within the stream channel and creating scrapes alongside it to promote the capture water during times of flood. These features can be created using a mini excavator to minimise the impact of machinery on the landscape and by building dams with locally available timber. This will create a network of temporary water bodies with varying profiles and muddy edges, providing homes and feeding opportunities for a whole host of species, in particular, aquatic or semi-aquatic plants and invertebrates, such as dragonflies and diving beetles.

If you feel you have any opinions on or can offer expertise that could add to our Strawberry Hill stream restoration project in these early stages, please contact Chantelle at chantelle.warriner@wildlifebcn.org. 

If you are interested you can learn more about river restoration here.

If you would like to volunteer with us at Strawberry Hill please contact Bedfordshire@wildlifebcn.org to find out more.