Holnicote River Catchment Restoration

by National Trust in Minehead, England, United Kingdom

Total raised £0

£750,000 target 112 days left
0% 0 supporters
Flexible funding – this project will receive all pledges made by 31st March 2025 at 12:00pm

The project will develop a wildlife rich landscape with connected, dynamic and diverse habitat across 12,500 hectares.

by National Trust in Minehead, England, United Kingdom

Our Vision

1701944997_barry_edwards_holnicote_river_project_p9017792_copy.jpg

We will build on the ground breaking restoration work completed as part of the conservation programme at Holnicote river. We have a team of rangers who will work with natural process to develop continuous river corridors across 3 catchments.  

Landscape Recovery, Green Recovery and funding through the Environment Agency have seen huge landscape scale achievements. Through additional funding we will continue innovative catchment restoration and landscape scale conservation combined with cutting edge monitoring to enable knowledge transfer and replication of concept. It will develop and expand the popular engagement work, including the virtual estate including an immersive audio experience.

The project will deliver

Benefit for Nature

1701944823_barry_edwards_beaver_kit_eating_7179837_web.jpg

  • Creation and management of over 20km of hedgerow
  • Planting and natural regeneration of 250 ha of wood pasture and 50 ha of new woodland. 
  • 120 ha of wetland habitat creation including intertidal habitat, floodplain reconnection and beaver wetland. 
  • 5 ha of peat maintenance 
  • 1400 ha of existing woodland maintenance (including SSSI) 
  • 25 ha of orchards
  • 27 ha of salt marsh creation 
  • Working with farmers and land managers to develop bespoke financial mechanisms to deliver resilient farm businesses and a landscape rich in diverse habitats and abundant wildlife.
  • Beaver release across 3 river catchments - wild river corridors connecting wildlife through the landscape and benefitting local communities through increased resilience to extreme weather. 

Benefit for people 

  • expanding virtual engagement alongside continued community and visitor engagement. 
  • Working with a local school for children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) to develop nature focused curriculum activities and allow children to learn about climate change and biodiversity issues. 
  • Building an extensive monitoring programme to evidence working with natural process at scale.  This will help to inform future work and shape our projects.

Funding our work

We are seeking £750,000 through P4N.  Here are some examples of what your support could achieve:

  • 35,000 to fund a Ranger salary.
  • £140,000 to fund a Ranger team of 4 for a year
  • £50,000 could pay for our work in the local community

Legacy

1701945416_ponds_forming_-_sept_23.jpg

The project supports our long term vision to expand our river restoration and large landscape-scale conservation projects. 

The legacy is simple. Clean, healthy, species-rich rivers. Native species grazing the landscape to encourage natural processes and regeneration along with local people and communities that are connected and encouraged to enjoy and benefit from nature.

Show your support

Payment and personal details are protected