Restoring the River Bure in Norfolk

2022

Improving the Scarrow Beck, live audio streams and a Riffle

Health benefits

In February, the Greening Aldborough group helped to clear bankside vegetation ahead of work on the Scarrow Beck to improve the river channel and benefit invertebrate and fish communities. The stretch of river runs behind the doctors surgery in Aldborough and provides a great opportunity to create space for the community to spend time near water for their enjoyment and wellbeing. 

A more natural profile

During April we've been working on the Scarrow Beck at Aldborough to provide rivers and catchments that are healthy, clean and rich in wildlife. With help from The Water Management Alliance, the once incised river channel has now been opened out creating a more natural profile to the bank. The addition of wood into the river channel will help scour and clean the gravel bed, improving habitat for invertebrate and fish communities, including the brook lamprey seen along the reach.

Livestreams at Blickling and Felbrigg

As part of our work to bring the diverse acoustic habitats of the River Bure catchment to new audiences, live audio streams have been set up in woodland, close to the Scarrow beck on the Felbrigg Estate Norfolk, and on the Blickling Estate. You can listen live for free at any time of the day or night at https://bit.ly/RiverlandsFelbrigg and https://bit.ly/RiverlandsBlickling 

Riverlands Riffle Installation

Working with Sound Artist Mike Challis we’ve created Bure Riffle, an interactive, immersive sound and light installation in The Strong Room at Felbrigg Hall. Mike collected sounds from the Upper Bure River and its tributaries to celebrate the diversity of nature in the area, including birdsong, barking roe deer and rippling water. The room has a beautiful double curved ceiling and Mike was inspired to use this as a projection surface. Working with the assistance of Pam Harling-Challis he has built a structure that recreates the river in the room using running water. The bed of the ‘river’ is a mirror and, by shining lights on the water, reflections are projected on to the ceiling filling the room with moving light patterns. Using gravel on the mirrored riverbed the flows of the river can be altered by visitors, creating a ‘riffle’. In a flowing stream carrying gravel or coarser sediments, a sequence of features including pools and riffles can form. Riffles are shallow accumulations of gravel organised into ribs with fast-flowing water. Pools are deeper, calmer areas where the riverbed is often made up of finer material such as silt. 

2021

Habitat improvements

As restrictions eased we were back in the river for the long-awaited launch of the Stream Sleuths project. The project uses eDNA to determine shared catchment actions which is funded by a UKRI Citizen Science Exploration Grant.

Creating improved habitat at the stream edge

We started work to restore the Scarrow Beck. Funded by a Water Environment Grant we are working to re-shape the banks to create more habitat at the water’s edge for wildlife.

Trapping sediment

Bundles of twigs and wood have been placed to trap sediment and help stop erosion of the bank. These natural wood bundles are traditionally called faggots. Gravel was added to the river bed to benefit fish such as trench and perch to feed and breed. 

Community Engagement

In October, school children from Erpingham Primary school explored the newly restored reach of the Scarrow Beck and met some of the creatures that call the river their home. The children gently disturbed the bed of the stream with their feet and using pond dipping nets downstream collected the invertebrates that were living amongst the gravels and riverbed. The invertebrates were carefully moved into a pond dipping tray and the children attempted to identify the different species and learn more about them before returning them safely to the river.

2020

Mannington stream and a new apprentice

Sharon Reeves is the newest member of the Bure Riverlands team. Sharon joined the team in February 2020 on the new Water Environment Worker Apprentice scheme.  

Team placed on furlough

In response to Covid-19 the team were furloughed during March 2020 which stopped some of the work progressing.

Water Environment Grant funded first stage

Before we entered lock-down the first phase of our Water Environment Grant funded works at Mannington Hall began, as well as restoring some ponds on the coast.

2018

Starting the project

Work began on the £1.6 million restoration project for the River Bure that runs through the Blickling and Felbrigg estates.

Restoring three ponds

Working with the Norfolk Ponds Project and the Pond Restoration Research Group at University College London, we completed the first project to restore three previously in-filled ‘Ghost Ponds’.

Increasing the benefits to wildlife

We also created three more ponds in farmland on the Felbrigg Estate. This will increase the benefits to wildlife in the area and allow us to see the differences in how new and restored ponds colonise with species.