Raydale and Semer Water catchment project

Work in Raydale has been going well with Deborah Millward leading a fantastic catchment project. This small valley has it all, forestry, dairy, beef, sheep, moors, nature reserves, one of only two glacial lakes in Yorkshire, a good number of gills and streams and one of Englands shortest rivers, the Bain. The dale has an active farming community that contain knowledge stemming from generations of land management.

As with all land in the UK there are pressures and conflicts for space which has resulted in a number of issues that the Raydale project has been trying to address. First there is the threat of a changing climate that seems to be resulting in heavier downpours and rapid flows of water. This is compounded by artificially drained moors which allow water to flush through the catchment with greater speed then would naturally occur. Fleet moss, one of the moors at the head of the dale, is severely eroded and hagged and has delivered tonnes of sediment to the river network resulting in habitat degradation for fish and riverflies. Moving downstream it appears that gills and stream banks are eroding with stock access to rivers exacerbating this in a few places.

With leadership from Deborah and the local community a good number of actions have taken place that will help reduce land management risk to rivers. This has included fencing off river banks, planting gills with native trees and restoring a gravel bed stream that has been running over a historic right of way back to its natural course. Further action will include the devlopment of a small hydro-electric scheme which may provide a future income for Raydale and help them establish their own charity to support the community and land managers in future years.

Over the next few years it is expected that the open drains on the moors will be blocked and heather restoration will be carried out. Lower down the dale catchment sensitive farming methods are being championed to ensure that farmers can achieve an income whilst also preserving the beauty and ecology of the dale and its streams.