CONSERVATION
Discover Brightwater For those who don’t already know, Discover Brightwater is a £3.3 million Landscape Partnership Programme, supported by all you National Lottery players via the National Lottery Heritage Fund. The partnership is led by Durham Wildlife Trust, and it’s our ambition to restore, reveal and celebrate the catchment of the River Skerne in southern County Durham and Darlington. That’s our Bright Water Landscape, where the project partners have been tasked with delivering more than 19 individual projects and more than 40 separate activities by summer 2022.
The River Skerne Much has been done to improve habitats along the river, which is straightened and over-deepened by dredging over much of its length. Work in the channel has improved flows, creating riffles and faster-flowing sections that slow sedimentation and create better habitats for fish. We have already completed more than 15km of river improvements, and we are currently working on another 6km between Holdforth Bridge and Bishop’s Fen, with other improvements to a stretch of river in central Darlington.
8 | WILDLIFE DURHAM WINTER 2021
Wetland restoration projects are improving the health of the water environment across the Skerne catchment by providing a ribbon of restored wetland habitat along the river corridor. Our project will restore a minimum of 40ha of floodplain, grazing marsh, fen and reedbed habitats. We are currently in negotiation with landowners to see if we can support improvements to another 60ha by the time the project comes to a close. Read our latest river updates here discoverbrightwater.com/the-river-skerne
