Essex and Suffolk Rivers Trust, working with the Environment Agency and Hill House, funded through the Environment Agency’s Water Environment Improvement Fund, starts its programme to improve the River Fynn, Suffolk.
Here are a few updates on the project so far!
1. This Playford section of the river had been over-widened, and parts of the banks severely poached by livestock. ESRT and its partners, using green engineering, are working to redefine the natural channel to allow the revitalisation of river habitats for fish and river wildlife.
2. To reduce the impacts of excess sediment in the River Fynn, and as part of our phased partnership programme to improve the river, we have begun work to install a new livestock crossing to help improve the riverbed for spawning fish. Cattle entering the river can cause severe bank damage, leading to excessive sediment build-up over spawning substrate, impacting the availability of suitable spawning sites.
3. In conjunction with the new crossing, new electric fencing will be installed by Hill House to prevent the livestock trampling the banks, allowing the river’s edge to naturalise, and leading to improved bankside river habitats for wildlife.
4. The new livestock crossing on the River Fynn is coming on a treat! We at the ESRT can’t wait to see the improvements it makes to the River Fynn once complete and in use!