Major landslip is transformed

Newly installed willow spiling

Our client had suffered a serious flood on his land which had caused a major landslip.  The aim of our work was to provide toe protection within the brook and reform and restabilise the slope.

This was a major project that involved regrading the bank and soil nailing at the top of the bank.  Silt was retained using Sedimat matting installed in the stream bed at the first riffle downstream.  We were able to remove the Sedimat and leave it to decompose, on completion of stone rip-rap and removal of the landslip material.

Water voles in decline

The latest news from the National UK Water Vole Database is not good for our furry friends.  The population is taking a nose dive - down by one fifth this summer.

What can we do to help?  There is plenty that could be done for this species and the health of our waterways in general: create and maintain large-scale, good-quality habitat; reintroduce water voles in specific areas; control the mink population (an invasive species which has become a huge problem for water voles in some areas).

Erosion control on the Exe Estuary

We completed an unusual erosion control project on the Exe Estuary in 2008.  Tides were eroding the estuary banks, exposing old landfill.  Reeds, which would normally hold the bank together, were getting damaged and leaving the banks even more exposed.

JPR used a traditional technique for erosion control which involved capturing the silt washed in and out with the tides in bundles of hazel.  This then settled on the banks, covering the erosion and allowing the vegetation to build up once again.

The invisible pond liner

The pond after 4 years

Want something that will blend into the local environment, looking for all the world as if it has always been there?  Bentonite is a great liner for this.  It is compacted with soil, making it pretty much invisible.

Standard, butyl liners are hard to disguise but there's no such problem with Bentonite.

We were tasked with creating a wildlife-friendly area in a small field on the side of the client’s property.  It's worked really well ....

Is this an otter print?

Could this be an otter print at Hartpury Blackwell End Orchard? We think it is (we mean the animal print to the right, of course we know the thing to the left is a lens cap!).

Park School Eco Garden Update

We've finished our stint at Park Junior School.  Working on their Eco Garden has been an exciting project and given our staff an opportunity to let their imaginations' go.  The pictures show the types of things that have been developed including stone crop, story telling circles and viewing areas.

Planting and sowing of fruit bushes, nectar rich plants and wildflowers over the coming months will complete the transformation of a dull corner of a field into something of an oasis for wildlife which will enrich the nature studies for the children.
                                                     

End of the willow season

The willow season has come to an end again this year.  It has been rather later than in previous years as the weather has been so cold.  However, a few sunny days and the willow has sprung into life, with catkins, leaves and roots very much in evidence.

Park Junior School Eco Garden

Tom busy building the 'bug-friendly' gabion wall.

  I am a governor at my son's Junior School and have taken on the development of an Eco Garden as an aid to the teaching of science and nature at the school.  The garden includes a large pond with dipping platform, a solar fountain feeding a damp wall and streamway, recycled stone walls, standing log piles, bug habitat, nectar rich planting and a hide viewing a bird feeding area.  I’ve posted a couple of photos of the on-going work and I’ll put up some more as the garden progresses.

The team laying out the butyl liner to form the pond