We are one step closer to creating a wildlife rich wetland at Oak Tree Farm; designs for a new wetland in the floodplain of the River Lugg have been created by wetland experts 35 percent. We will divert the flow of a stream to create a wetland rich in aquatic plants, replacing the many wetlands that have been lost from our landscapes due to drainage of farmland. The wetland designs include creation of a series of scrapes, which will hold rain and flood water seasonally and support a wide variety of insects, forming an important area for breeding wetland birds and their chicks. The wetland will also have a permanent pool perfect for toads and dragonflies.  Finally, we will create a natural water treatment system utilising grasses and wetland plants to improve the quality of water flowing off the A49.  Since purchasing Oak tree Farm, in 2020 11 acres of the farm have been strewn with wildflower seeds and we will continue to strew seeds from donor sites, such as Lugg Meadows to make wildflower rich floodplain grassland.

The funding required to complete the wetland creation is falling into place (more news on this soon!), and we hope to secure planning permission to allow wetland creation works to begin in late summer 2022. We will be running a series of guided walks at Oak Tree Farm, prior to opening the nature reserve to the public in Spring 2023. A new bird hide had already been installed which overlooks the seasonal pool formed by flood waters from the River Lugg and a second hide will be installed overlooking a permanent pool and the wildlife it attracts. We hope to create a small park to make the reserve more accessible to visitors.

Thank you to everyone that donated to the Oak Tree Farm fundraising appeal for making purchasing the site possible and to the HWT volunteer team for helping us to monitor water levels, a key part of our wetland creation work.