Nature recovery –how you can help

HOW could you help nature recover across the Mendip Hills in spring? One of the simplest things we can all do is adjust where we visit and how we visit special places across the area. Many of the favourite sites are Nature Reserves that are springing into life now with adders basking and skylarks nesting on the ground.

Why not make your visits to these areas special treats rather than weekly for the next month or so? When you are visiting, please keep dogs under close control and minimise disturbance off the paths.

Working with Water

Through the Farming in Protected Landscapes fund we have been working hard with farmers and landowners to implement projects that mitigate climate change, whilst improving and creating habitats.

One project was a new wetland created by the Bristol and Avon Rivers Trust with the landowners on the northern side of the AONB. This will create a wonderful new habitat for birds, invertebrates and other wildlife whilst also helping to regulate droughts and flooding by keeping more water in the landscape.

They also installed several leaky dams into one of the streams which feeds the River Chew, which has poor water quality and has been known to flood downstream. Leaky dams are a natural flood management technique which mimic natural obstructions caused by trees and branches falling into rivers.

These can help slow down water flow, enabling more water to be stored in the soil and reducing flood risk. Using natural flood management techniques such as these across the water catchment can really make a difference to water quality and flooding.

If you would like help developing any projects on your land within the Mendip Hills AONB that could benefit the climate, nature, people and place, please get in contact.