River Mel Restoration Group

The last twelve months or so have certainly been very different for members of the River Mel Restoration Group (RMRG), particularly for those usually active on the river. Several periods of lockdown have meant that we have not been able to work on the river in our normal fashion. Those working parties that we were able to organise last summer were very task orientated and limited to a single team of no more than six. Sessions were kept short, socially distanced, and with no tea or coffee breaks. Not the way we like to work, but these have been unusual times. This does not mean that our work completely stopped. Early last year we had secured some local funding through the Wild Trout Trust to enhance habitat for water voles in Melbourn. The first lockdown immediately threw our plans into some disarray as our volunteers were prevented from taking part in the project due to the prevailing Covid regulations. Consequently, more of the work than had been anticipated had to be carried out by a contractor, supervised by the Wild Trout Trust, with the RMRG having to fund the extra work from our reserves. However, by the time this lockdown eased we were able to work in a socially distanced manner to repair the access point on the Melbourn recreational field using surplus gravel left over from the water vole project. In Meldreth, on a stretch of the river behind Holy Trinity Church, a new project is being delivered in partnership with the Wild Trout Trust and the local Wildlife Trust. Selective clearance of overgrown bankside vegetation will be followed by the introduction of gravel riffles to promote breeding habitat for the native brown trout and other fish species local to the river. Funding for this project has come from Cambridge Water’s Pebble Fund, and the initial enabling work has already been carried out. We hope that the rest of these works will be completed by the end of the year. Again, the funding and access allows for a contractor to do the ‘heavy lifting’, but we hope that the Covid regulations will allow some volunteer involvement as the project progresses.

The series of lockdowns and the rules governing social distancing have severely curtailed the amount of maintenance work that we have been able to carry out. The high levels of water over the winter washed a lot of woody debris down the river, and winter gales brought down a number of trees, some into the river. We did manage to do some emergency clearance, using a party of two or three from the same household, to move debris that was threatening to block some of the bridges (see page 17). We were fortunate that none of the debris blocked the river completely, and some even did good by causing the water flow to swirl and eddy, which helped clear through any residual silt. This spring, with the high water levels and faster flow, the river is looking in better health than it has done for many years, with beautiful clumps of water crowsfoot and starwort. A colony of water voles has taken up residence near Flambard’s bridge and mallards and moorhens are nesting along the river. To contact the River Mel Restoration Group please email info@rivermel.com.

Sandra Webb

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