The Wildlife Trusts have launched a new report, Let Nature Help.

“All over the UK we are working to restore natural habitats that lock up carbon in our peatlands, meadows, forests and at sea, and to bring people closer to nature. The loss of nature and the climate crisis are inextricably linked, yet this is not widely understood by the public or decision-makers.

Let Nature Help explains the hugely important role our natural habitats play in storing carbon, alongside all the other vital ‘services’ they provide; be that clean water provision, flood alleviation or accessible greenspace, proven to positively impact our own health and wellbeing. And this is all of course without touching upon the wonderful wildlife they support.”

 Another piece of new research from the University of Salford has found that doing nothing is often a better course of action for reducing flooding than heavy handed attempts to mechanically alter rivers.

The researchers found that rivers which are allowed to behave more naturally are better at locking up sediment upstream, rather than letting it accumulate in unnaturally high quantities in flood-prone towns and cities. If more rivers are allowed to behave naturally and develop this way, it could help reduce future flooding.

This hands-off approach to managing rivers is also much cheaper than hard engineering and brings a wealth of environmental benefits with it. The wandering channel system that’s evolving on the River Caldew has the greatest variety of features and habitats across the entire watercourse.