Upper Wharfe Restoration Project

Making the most of it…..

Upper Wharfe Restoration Project

We have had a beautiful few weeks in the Yorkshire Dales giving us a fantastic opportunity to get on with some of our restoration projects and training days, with little worry of being washed away but also picking up a bit of a tan. Only in Britain can you be seen in shorts and t-shirts one day and be wrapped up and avoiding the snow the next.

Willow Bundling

First up, at the beginning of March we started our first Upper Wharfe Restoration Project up in the headwaters of the Wharfe at Nethergill Farm. I visited Chris at Nethergill Farm in the first few weeks of the UWRP. I was really enthusiastic about Nethergill Farm and the direction they were heading in, it’s encouraging to see farmers making conscious efforts to farm sensitively with respect to their local river and environment.

Our first visit….

On that visit we highlighted a particularly bad eroding bank that had probably been exacerbated by livestock access to the banks. It was also clear that there was a distinct lack of tree cover along the bank sides. We decided the best solution was to fence off the river bank leaving a 2m buffer strip where possible, plant some trees on the inside of the fence line and do some willow bundling to protect the eroding bank.

Between the 12^th-14^th a group of volunteers helped the YDRT to carry out the Willow Bundling and the following week a contractor installed the fence and trees.

Day 1 of the Willow Bundling with very kind help from the National Trust we felled some locally sourced willow and a group of volunteers from Harrogate helped to bundle together the Willow.

Day 2 we had the bundles transported to Nethergill Farm. Another group of volunteers then installed 25 metres of bundles along the toe of the bank. Using fence posts we tied down the bundles with wire to keep them secure, we then packed soil behind so that the willow had something to grow into. The willlow bundles are great for supporting the bottom of the banks as well as providing some cover for juvenile fish.

Day 3 Another group of volunteers then helped install brashing behind the bundles, in similar fashion to the bundles, we tied this down to the banks. Brashing here is good for slowing down the velocity of the river in spate and also trapping some of that “fine sediment”.

So there we are, our first project completed. It went pretty well and the results were better than expected. Lets hope the willows take root and the bank stabilises and stops the erosion. Thanks to all the volunteers who helped with this project and Chris for allowing use to do the work on his land.