September 28, 2020 3.24 pm This story is over 42 months old

Plans to turn Lincolnshire fenland into wildlife reserve

It will become a home for wildlife
Bourne North Fen. | Photo: Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust

A project led by Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust aims to restore 50 hectares of farmland to the county’s lost peat-fenland.

The Trust is going to buy the Bourne North Fen site from a local farmer and it will become a home for a variety of wildlife. It will link up important nature reserves and create multi-purpose wetland.

The Trust is currently fundraising for the first phase of the project, which includes land acquisition and initial engineering works to improve the habitat and manage the water flow through reedbeds. If the funds are raised, this could be complete by March 2022.

The new wetland would be connected via two rivers to form part of a nature recovery network.

The plans would boost Lincolnshire’s endangered fenland habitats by 30% and support iconic species to return to the area such as bittern, crane, swallowtail butterfly and greater water parsnip.

Bourne North Fen will be a pilot landscape-scale project particularly focused on improving water resource management, which could be replicated elsewhere.

There are currently two adults and well grown chick on the reserve. Photo: Nick Williams

The benefits of the project include reduced flood risk, improved water quality and enhanced biodiversity.

Tammy Smalley, Head of Conservation at Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust, said: “Sitting in between our nature reserves of Willow Tree Fen and Baston Fen, it offers the opportunity to restore and reconnect Lincolnshire’s lost fenland.”