The water courses running through a water meadow had silted up and the meadow had deteriorated. The water voles migrated away and the owner called us in to restore the meadow.
We carried out a site survey to check for endangered species and then set to work restoring the water flows. The results were very gratifying – within a short time water voles had moved back into the meadow and the grasses recovered to their original beauty.
Landowners can apply for grants of up to £808 per hectare through the Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier scheme for functioning water meadows that are managed using traditional practices, that is where irrigation is achieved through a system of inlet and outlet channels. We are happy to advise landowners.
