This September, an exciting partnership project saw two kilometres of river restoration work completed on the Devil's Brook, a 14 km long watercourse rising in the chalk hills near Higher Ansty, that flows south to join the River Piddle near Athelhampton. Much of the river is heavily modified, having been straightened and over-widened which has significantly reduced the habitat quality and biodiversity of the river. 

However, all is not lost for the Devil's Brook. A partnership of organisations including Wessex Water, Wild Trout Trust, Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group Southwest, with the support of Environment Agency and Natural England, have been working with local landowners and managers to look at river restoration opportunities.

Trees, whether standing or fallen, provide vital habitat along a watercourse. Unfortunately, modern land management practices mean that fallen trees are often removed. Our Rivers and Wetlands team, with the help of local land managers, trustees and Wessex Water volunteers, have installed 33 Large Woody Debris (LWD) features along a two-kilometre targeted reach, to replicate fallen trees.   

The LWD features consist of locally sourced trees, of different shapes, that are positioned in the river and pinned in place using chestnut stakes. 

Fallen trees naturally provide much needed shelter and food for an array of wildlife. But this habitat is often lacking due to our tendencies to ‘tidy’ and remove these features, fearing that they are a problem. In fact, nine times out of ten, a fallen tree along a watercourse is causing no hazards and should be left in place to encourage natural processes along our modified rivers and streams.   

The LWD installed will dramatically transform the current uniform habitat (same flow, same depth) in this area, by physically changing water flow and direction.  This will allow gravel riffles and scour pools of varying depth to form, resulting in increased wildlife diversity.   

Dorset Wildlife Trust staff and volunteers working on site were treated to excellent views of kingfisher and dragonfly, who were quick to perch and admire these newly installed habitat features! We are excited to monitor the changes to the habitat and wildlife abundance now that work has been completed.