Natural England

One of the world’s most powerful diggers is heading to Cheshire to boost the county’s disappearing wet meadows and encourage endangered wildlife back on behalf of the Government’s environmental champion Natural England.

The giant American ‘big wheel rotary ditcher’, owned by the RSPB, can chisel accurately through the surface of fields the length of a football pitch in less than an hour, creating shallow ditches and pools that are excellent for wetland wildlife.

Around ten times faster than a conventional digger, the ditcher is in the county from August 18 to 27 to help five farmers on the River Gowy and sites near Knutsford and Sandbach create the wet pools, ditches and scrapes needed to encourage declining birds, such as lapwing and redshank, to feed and breed.

The expectation is that birds will rapidly respond to the presence of these new wet features, re-colonising lost breeding grounds and expanding out from the few core sites that now support most of the population. This will be the ditchers’ first trip into the north west of England.

Many of Cheshire’s wet meadows have disappeared over the past 50 years due to development, land drainage and changes in agriculture. With this loss of habitat, the populations of breeding wading birds that were once widespread in this area have declined.

Farmers on the River Gowy will be using the ditcher to improve their riverside meadows for wading birds. Sites near Knutsford and Sandbach will also see the ditcher creating new habitats.

Together these sites will restore and create wet grassland habitat, important not only for lapwings, but also other wetland wildlife such as scarce plants and insects.

All the farmers involved have entered Natural England’s flagship Environmental Stewardship Scheme, and the work is funded through this. The farmers have entered into a 10-year agreement with Natural England who provide funding for environmental management that delivers biodiversity, landscape, historic and access benefits. The rotary ditcher provides an opportunity to enhance biodiversity by creating new wetland habitats which will in turn increase the number of breeding waders on their land.

Hannah Gay from Natural England said “Our vision is to see the county’s special wetland landscapes being restored. To see wading birds using the meadows next spring will be a great thumbs-up for the work of the ditcher and the farmers’ efforts to support wading birds on their land.”

Andrew Gouldstone, RSPB Area Conservation Manager, said: “This is an exciting opportunity for more wetland creation in Cheshire. We are delighted to see the ditcher in the county, and it is great that these farmers have been willing to use it on their land. The Stewardship scheme will fund the work, but the involvement of the farmers is crucial. The ongoing management they undertake will help the long term survival of these habitats and birds.”

Huw Rowlands of the Grange, Mickle Trafford, Chester said “This innovative machine will work wonders for the wildlife on our farm, and the wetland restoration project funded by Natural England is attracting a great deal of interest. Collaboration between the farmers and other organisations involved is going to prove a cost-effective and innovative way to give Cheshire’s wetland wildlife a much-needed boost.”

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For more information contact:
Andrew Gouldstone, RSPB Area Conservation Manager: 01995 642253 or 07779 650519

Notes to editors:

1. Breeding waders nest on the ground in wet grassland sites, where they need shallow wet ditches and scrapes for finding insect food in the spring and summer.
2. Lapwings have declined nationally by 47% between 1970-2005.
3. Lapwings are a UK Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) priority species, and are also listed in the Cheshire county BAP.
4. The ‘big wheel rotary ditcher’ is owned by the RSPB, and is the only piece of machinery of its kind in the UK. It is operated on behalf of the RSPB by Oxfordshire based contractors Agrivert.
5. The ditcher is ideal for creating the wetland features that breeding waders require.
6. Restoration of floodplain habitats, such as wet grassland, can also provide additional benefits in terms of improved water quality in our rivers, and help to reduce flood risk.
7. The RSPB speaks out for birds and wildlife, tackling the problems that threaten our environment. Nature is amazing - help us keep it that way. Click here to join today www.rspb.org.uk/join
8. Natural England works for people, places and nature to conserve and enhance biodiversity, landscapes and wildlife in rural, urban, coastal and marine areas. We conserve and enhance the natural environment for its intrinsic value, the wellbeing and enjoyment of people, and the economic prosperity it brings. www.naturalengland.org.uk
9. Environmental Stewardship is composed of three tiers:

• Entry Level Stewardship (ELS), a whole farm scheme which aims to encourage farmers and land managers across England to deliver simple but effective environmental management
• Organic Entry Level Stewardship (OELS), which is open to farmers who manage all or part of their land organically
• Higher Level Stewardship (HLS), which, when combined with ELS or OELS options, aims to deliver significant environmental benefits in high priority areas.
• The scheme replaced the Countryside Stewardship, Environmentally Sensitive Areas and Organic Farming Schemes, which are now closed to new applicants. 2008 marks 21 years of these agri-environment schemes.

ISSUED ON BEHALF OF NATURAL ENGLAND BY COI NEWS AND PR NORTH WEST.