A two hectare wetland creation on the floodplain of the River Thame to benefit freshwater plants and animals.
Photo: Waddesdon Estate
Partners: River Thame Conservation Trust & the Waddesdon Estate
The newly created wetland mosaic is the first of its kind in the Thame catchment. A holistic approach to floodplain restoration that aims to provide not only a diverse range of high quality habitat, but clean unpolluted water in which wildlife can thrive.
The wetland mosaic comprises of a complex of pools, ponds, wet grassland and backwater habitat. All features have long drawdown zones and shallow margins that will slowly dry and re-wet through the seasons, providing a multitude of niche habitats and benefiting a wide range of freshwater plants and animals.
The wetland mosaic will dry down into a series of pools of different sizes and shapes, providing a diverse range of habitat.
Its location in the floodplain of the River Thame adds a key ‘stepping stone’ connection between two important areas for wetland birds in the catchment and increases overall landscape-scale connectivity for water dependent species. In the longer-term we hope it will stand as a demonstration site for national best practice of floodplain restoration and potentially as a focus site for the re-introduction of freshwater plants and animals whose populations are declining or have become extinct in the River Thame catchment.
Please note this site is on private land and is not accessible to the public.
‘Creation of the Waddesdon Wetland’ Video
Waddesdon Picture Gallery
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- View of the wetland mosiac and backwater across the valley
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- Breaking ground
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- Nutrient rich topsoil removed
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- Excavation of the wetland mosaic
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- Mosaic of pools created to provide diverse habitat
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- Freshly dug wetland showing its variation in micro-typology
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- Finished wetland
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- Wetland after heavy rain
Special thanks to….
Rothschild Family & The Waddesdon Estate
All the marvelous volunteers whose time and effort collected vital monitoring data:
Adam Price
Nick Marriner
Mark Ritson
Sue Faulds
All the project officers, designers, fund raisers, surveyors and coordinators that made the project happen:
Louise Bowe (River Thame Conservation Trust)
Natalie Breden (River Thame Conservation Trust)
Nigel Davenport (River Thame Conservation Trust)
Emily Godfrey (River Thame Conservation Trust)
Paul Holton (Aylesbury Vale District Council)
Tim Longstaff (River Thame Conservation Trust)
Pascale Nicolet (Freshwater Habitats Trust)
Cat Robinson (Environment Agency)
Sally Rowlands (River Thame Conservation Trust)
Graham Scholey (Environment Agency)
Hannah Worker (Freshwater Habitats Trust)
The Contractors:
White Horse Contractors
Funded by
The European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development: Europe investing in rural areas.
Thames Water
The Waddesdon Estate