Celebrating marsh and mud on World Wetlands Day
Posted by: Nick Hardiman,
The EA blog describes recent habitat creation to celebrate World Wetlands Day
The new Salford flood scheme, opened on World Wetlands Day, includes 5 ha of urban wetland with benefits for wildlife and the community Marsh and mud have often received a bad press. In centuries past, coastal mudflats and marshes were thought of as derelict, even dangerous, places – scenes of criminal escapes and smuggled cargos landed. But over the last few decades, we have been turning things around. It might not be a ‘revolution’, but marshes and mud have been making a definite comeback.
Our focus this World Wetlands Day, is on urban wetlands making cities liveable. So it seems apt the Environment Agency has marked it by celebrating the completion of a project in Salford which includes 5 hectares of urban wetland. Not only does this project provide important habitat for many species of birds and mammals, some of which are endangered, but it will reduce flood risk to nearly 2,000 homes and businesses.
On the coast
Earlier this year we finished work on Hesketh on the Ribble Estuary in Lancashire, where we restored 154 hectares of land to its former glory of gurgling creeks crowned with sea aster, cord grass and the soulful call of redshank.
The blog also highlights work at Medmerry & the Great Fen
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