Kingfishers, water meadows and deep pools in the Meon Valley
July 27, 2018
The Meon Valley Partnership (MVP) met last week for the annual site visit. The Partnership’s mission is to provide a co-ordinated, strategic approach to conserving and enhancing the Meon Valley from source to sea, making the most of the expertise of its members, see below.
We started with a talk from Chris Lycett from the Hampshire and Isle Of Wight Wildlife Trust (HIWWT) at St Clair’s Meadow, which the Trust purchased last September. They are working closely with the local community (who contributed to the purchase) and Portsmouth Service Fly Fishing Association (PSFFA) as well as with the SDNP to manage the site for the local community as well as for wildlife. Find out more about the Meadow on the HIWWT website.
The lower section of the site has no access for the general public and is a haven for wildlife (otters, bats, birds, wild brown trout, dragonflies and water voles), although a kingfisher established a nest in the bank in the upper section which is open to the public, so next year they will look to encourage it to nest in the lower section. Also, part of the management plan is to reinstate the grazing regime, they have a local grazer set up to graze the site once new fencing has been installed, this will include sections along by the river with an alternative drinking source for the cattle.
Then after a short walk, along a much needed shady section on the Meon Valley Trail, we met with one of the Landowners and Farmers within the Meon Valley. He explained the difficult balance with managing an estate for wildlife, public access and a farming business. Danny has worked with the Wild Trout Trust to restore a section of river to a more natural functioning river (You can read a report about this on the Wild Trout Trust website). This included installing flow deflectors, creating deep pools, narrowing the channel and planting saplings. This stretch of river re-established really well, see photos below, there is less than a year between the before and after. Andy Thomas, Wild Trout Trust showed the group these main elements of the project and was really pleased with the further progress on this stretch of the river and discussed the options for ongoing management.
Finally, as we walked through the meadows by the river Anthony McEwen a local resident and member of PSFFA gave us an insight into the cultural heritage of the area by pointing out the remains of the water meadow structures, which would have allowed water to flood onto the meadows early in the season giving the meadow extra nutrients and a boost to the growth of grass. They would have provided the earliest hay, best fed sheep and the most productive cows.
The visit provoked lots of discussion as the MVP finalises its next 10 year strategy and will be beneficial in prioritising the list of potential projects at the next meeting in October.