15/04/2026
As we reach mid-April and the warmer weather, it's the perfect time to plant seed!
This March, we completed a large NFM project in Kirkby, Merseyside, widening the river channel in two places and creating two dynamic online wetlands. We also widened and deepened an existing offline wetland scrape to increase its capacity. This has been made possible with the help of our dedicated contractors, Wildbanks Conservation, who have simultaneously supported the mitigation of Water Vole on site, which has been attentively led by Ecologist Jim Fairclough at BSG Ecology.
With the groundworks completed, we're making our way over next week to plant the site up. From common reed to purple loosestrife for our wetland areas, to a suite of delicious wildflowers and meadow grasses for our pollinators and Water Vole, it should be looking a whole lot prettier (with lots of habitat benefits) very soon!
To put it all into perspective, this project, in combination with our Valley Park bifurcation and wetland scrape just across the road, is now providing approximately 2000 m3 of flood storage capacity for Simonswood Brook, a tributary of the River Alt!
