Nature

River Mel Restoration

The start of the winter season for the River Mel Restoration Group is marked by two quite different events. The first is our entry to Meldreth Church’s Christmas Tree Festival and the second is our last in-river working party of the year. The fish-spawning season starts in December and runs through to March. To ensure the best environment for fish to breed we suspend working in the river so as not to disturb the silt that can smother any eggs laid in the gravel. However, there are still plenty of things to do….

At our working party in December, our members planted fifty new shrubs of native species. These shrubs were provided by the Conservation Volunteer organisation, free of charge, as part of their “Dig Trees” campaign. The shrubs, which included hawthorn, spindle, guilder rose, wayfarer tree and dogwood, were planted along the old riverbed that runs beside the woodland path in Melbourn. They have all been protected by tree guards, so we are hopeful that they will grow well here to replace the dead trees.

On a lovely almost spring like day in January the volunteers worked clearing the ponds in Stockbridge Meadows. The ponds, which can be seen from the boardwalk that runs down to the river, require regular maintenance to ensure they do not silt up. Winter is a good time of the year for this work as a lot of the animals who enjoy this environment are hibernating.

These open areas of shallow water provide valuable environmental benefits, from the storage of rainwater to a wonderful habitat for wildlife. Ponds are very important wildlife habitats that support birds, dragonflies, amphibians, invertebrates and wild flowers. Unfortunately, almost 70% of the UK’s ponds have been lost over the last 100 years due to natural processes leading to silt build-up. It is important therefore to manage our remaining ponds to ensure they do not dry up due to overgrowth of reeds and build-up of dying vegetation. Volunteers used scythes to cut back the overgrowing reeds and raked out the detritus from the dying vegetation. The cuttings were dragged to the edge of the ponds and then left so that any small creatures caught up in the rakings were able return to the water.

If you are interested in joining The River Mel Restoration Group, please contact Maureen Brierley, Secretary, on 01763 262752.