The Restoring Rivers and Catchments Team recently completed construction works at our Maidenhead Ditch project. The team delivered habitat enhancements on three project sites in the Cookham area. Works included the construction of a large woody berm feature and the creation of marginal wetted areas and scrapes, which the SERT team designed in-house.
Three wooden berm features have been installed with the help of K O Ecolological Services. We build berms to narrow the channel. They slow the flow of water which in turn encourages sediment to drop out and over time, they establish into naturalised banks/berms.
The wetted scrape areas take the form of shallow ponds, less than 1m in depth, which hold rain or flood water seasonally but stay damp for most of the year. They make a significant difference to wildlife, especially in agricultural areas and are often created in areas of damp or floodplain grassland, or set aside land. The team were able to make use of deadwood and root-plates found on site to create some fantastic habitat features. A bespoke pond edge seed mix was added to finish the scrape so we’re looking forward to seeing the new wetland habitat spring into life soon.
The aim of the project is to enhance the river habitat of the Maidenhead Ditch in Cookham, Berkshire, to better support wildlife and provide better amenity benefits for the community.
We will be working across three water bodies – Marsh Meadow, Strand Water and Fleet Ditch, with the aim to ultimately help them reach Good Ecological Status under the Water Framework Directive (WFD) classification.
Residents will have the chance to learn how the project proposes to improve low water flows and habitat in Marsh Meadows, to help wildlife thrive. Water voles area already known to be present in this area and the project’s proposals would improve their habitat.
Plans at Fleet Ditch include coppicing and selected felling of trees which will be reused in the river channel to vary the water’s flow, bringing benefits for fish and invertebrates. Cutting back trees would also bring more daylight to the waterway, allowing vegetation to flourish as it should.
Proposals for Strand Water, which is over-widened, include creating wetter marginal areas. They also include adding berms that protrude from the edge of the banks and large wooden deflectors into the water, to vary the flow and provide varied conditions for aquatic life to exploit. Improvements will maintain water levels in winter, making this beneficial to wildlife all year round.
The project is being carried out with South East Water as part of its Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP) programme commitments.