Volunteers give River Meon much-needed makeover

Volunteers give River Meon much-needed makeover

July 3, 2014

The River Meon is becoming a better home for plants, fish, birds and invertebrates thanks to a project to improve its flow through the village of East Meon.

Local resident Nigel Brooks was instrumental in helping the project to get off the ground as well as physically rolling up his sleeves.

Nigel said:

“It’s been a phenomenal piece of work with more than 400 stones being bonded to the concrete bed to form the low flow channel. The pockets created by the stones were then filled by hand with 18 tonnes of river gravels and planted. But the hard work has paid off and we now have a healthier and more attractive river, as fitting our beautiful village. The achievement can be appreciated by standing on the bridge at the top of the improved stretch and contrasting it with the unimproved “canal” upstream. The contrast is huge.”

Andy Thomas, Wild Trout Trust Conservation Officer South & West, said:

“Fish such as small brown trout and bull heads should thrive in the section of the chalk stream now turned into a semi-natural meandering channel. It will also make an ideal feeding area for grey wagtails and egrets.”

Nick Heasman, Western Area Manager for the South Downs National Park Authority, said:

“This is an exciting project because it not only makes the river look better, it also benefits wildlife. The project was carefully modelled and designed to make sure that it doesn’t increase the risk of flooding. We’ll be keeping a close eye now to see how the channel settles down and responds to winter flows before we look at extending the project along the rest of the channel.”

The work has been carried out by the Wild Trout Trust and the South Downs Volunteer Ranger Service and funded by the South Downs National Park Authority and East Meon Parish Council.