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London Wildlife Trust, The National Trust and the Environment Agency have come together to restore Watermeads Island, a historic wetland near Mitcham , to reintroduce water voles to the river Wandle and to aid the future survival of this endangered species. A partnership of organisations, led by London Wildlife Trust’s London Water Vole Project, is aiming to bring back the water vole to the Wandle by spring 2009 through a reintroduction programme.
The water vole, once an extremely familiar sight along British waterway, including the river Wandle, is now the UK’s fastest declining mammal. This is due to the loss of suitable habitat on rivers, canals, lakes and ponds, and more recently intense predation by the North American mink. There is now only one water vole alive for every twenty that would have been alive eighty years ago. Watermeads Island, owned by the National Trust was identified by the London Wildlife Trust’s Water Vole Project as a potential site for reintroducing the water voles back to the river Wandle. Over 900 metres of ditches have recently been skilfully excavated by mechanical digger in order to create good quality habitat for water voles in the future. National Trust warden Chris Heels said “Watermeads Island has had a varied usage associated with the local industry which operated a number of mills in the area up to the end of the nineteenth century. The wetland restoration work has recreated a network of ditches which had become filled up with sediment over time and had lost value in wildlife and landscape terms. I am delighted that Watermeads will be a functional wetland again and hope to improve public access in the future. ”. The new ditches have been designed to be water vole friendly and also benefit a wide range of other plants and animals such as yellow flag iris and dragonflies. The restored ditches will retain open water, which voles need to help escape predators, and to encourage a diverse of wetland plants to flourish which water voles need for food and shelter, and with steep earth banks for digging homes (called burrows).  Water Vole Funding for the work came from the Carillion plc Habitats Grant which specifically funds threatened species and habitats across the country. Aneysha Minocha, environmental manager, (Carillion plc) and Carillion volunteer organiser, said ”We have been involved with the London Wildlife Trust for over 3 years now. In that time our office volunteers have been working on the Water Vole projects on the river. This has provided Carillion staff with a wonderful opportunity to get involved in a conservation project that is vital for the biodiversity of London. It has been an enjoyable, informative and a very rewarding process for us, and we look forward to continuing this work.”. London Water Vole Project Officer, Alex Draper said “We need to make the habitat as good as possible. This work is a critical step towards preparing the river for the return of the water vole. We are looking for further funding and sponsorship to install new sluice gates to manage water levels and to create areas of healthy reed bed habitat which will also benefit a wide range of wildlife. Bringing back the water vole to the river Wandle is a challenging task, but one that we think is worthwhile, not just for the sake of wildlife, but also for local people to be able to enjoy a once familiar sight along the riverbank.”. The London Wildlife Trust’s London Water Vole Project is supported by The Environment Agency; British Waterways and Lee Valley Park Authority. The project aims to conserve London's water vole population and increase their range and numbers for the benefit of current and future generations. To reverse the decline in London’s water vole numbers, the project is working with other organisations, landowners, developers and volunteers to save existing populations and encourage new ones either by creating and enhancing habitat for them to move into, or by physically reintroducing them to suitable sites to increase their population spread across the capital. | The water vole in London In Greater London the water vole has disappeared from over 72% of the sites it occupied before 1997. The main cause for their decline has been through the destruction and loss of suitable habitat through intensive river engineering, built development and insensitive land management practises. Elsewhere in the country, and now in London in some places, the decline has been severely worsened by the spread of North American mink, which escaped or were released from fur farms some twenty years ago, and are now living wild. Mink live along watercourses and are a supreme predator of water voles as well as other wildlife such as ducks and other wildfowl. They hunt both on the banks and in the water and are able to enter water vole burrows - water voles have no escape route. Securing mink free areas is critical to the future success of any reintroduction work. |
On the Wandle Surveys conducted at areas that are most likely to still support water voles in the Wandle river valley have so far drawn a blank, finding no signs of their presence such as: burrows, feeding remains, and droppings. The last record of water vole on the Wandle was in 1962. In the past this river has been heavily used by industry and often polluted but today its pollution record is much improved thanks to the work of the Environment Agency and local authorities. Although the river still suffers in places from having concrete and wooden toe-boarding along its banks it still retains some excellent natural locations along its length where water voles ought to thrive. Other stretches of river offer excellent opportunities to enhance the habitat for water voles and other riverside wildlife. The other reintroduction sites are Morden Hall, Mitcham (downstream) and Spencer Road Wetland Nature Reserve, Beddington (upstream). Work will continue on all three sites towards a target release date of spring 2009. |
To learn more about water voles and for further information about the project visit the London Wildlife Trust website at www.wildlondon.org.uk For further information contact Alex Draper
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