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River Beane Restoration Association
(opens in a new tab)We're a volunteer-run not-for-profit group working to protect and improve the River Beane for the benefit of all. We work closely with Herts Wildlife Trust, Environment Agency and other members of the River Beane Catchment Partnership riverbeane.co.uk
This is a great news story from the nearby River Ash and shows the benefits that come from a catchment-based approach to river restoration. Sarah is the guest speaker at our open meeting on 11 November, and will be telling us much more about this major project. Will you becoming along?
Rare damselfly spotted by restored chalk river near Hertford
www.bbc.co.uk
The Herts and Middlesex Trust says it is "thrilled" the new wetlands are helping species thrive.
Please join us for the River Beane Restoration Association’s Open Meeting on 11 November, from 6.45pm to 9.00pm, at the War Memorial Hall, Watton at Stone.We’ll briefly look back at the past 12 months of RBRA activity, including an update on the Flagship Restoration Project, share the results of our water vole surveys, celebrate our volunteers’ efforts, and enjoy a chat and conversation during a coffee break.Our keynote speaker for the evening is Sarah Perry, from the Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust, who will take you on a deep dive into restoration of these iconic rivers – highlighting the seven-year journey to revive the River Ash and its floodplain within a farmed historic landscape. More details in the Event post below.Walkern History Society Woodhall Estate Support Beane Marsh Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust I Love Hertford
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Another great example of what a healthy chalk stream should look like – with plenty of fallen (or, in this case, deliberately felled) trees. No small-scale ‘engineered’ flow deflectors here. Instead, the whole tree, branches and all🙂See my added comment: such works need careful planning and may need permission fromthe Environment Agency
Water Vole surveying over the weekend…Water Voles were reintroduced to the River Beane in 2022 after being absent for many years. Every six months our volunteers and those from the Herts Wildlife Trust survey the river to see how far they’ve spread. The autumn survey was done over the past few days. Great signs here at Waterford Marsh, even right alongside the public paths through the area.
Just a short way downstream of the dried up river (in our previous post) there’s still a steady flow as it passes under the Watton bypass bridge. This is typical chalk stream behaviour, with upper sections seeing less or no flow after a long dry summer, but still good flows further along. The water level in the river ‘lags behind’ the groundwater level, which in turn lags behind rainfall. That’s why the river flowed all summer, but owing to no significant rain since June, is now declining. It will decline more, and will take a whole winter of above average rainfall to improve. Right now, that doesn’t look too likely.