Helping wildlife
As well as reducing flood risk, our work in the woods is benefiting nature too. Our beech trees are being replaced by a variety of native species that are more suited to the woods, like oak and blackthorn. More light to the forest floor means smaller plants can flourish. We’ve also left behind deadwood habitats; a haven for roosting bats, nesting birds and insects. Our work is also reducing the amount of silt which reaches the streams and ponds. This helps amphibians, invertebrates and fish.
Volunteer days
Every two weeks, Slow the Flow and the National Trust run volunteer days where people can help us build leaky dams and help with other natural flood management tasks. The enthusiasm and hard work of local people means that together we’ve built over 500 leaky dams. Slow the Flow have helped bring hundreds of volunteers to work in Hardcastle Crags.
You can see evidence of our natural flood management throughout Hardcastle Crags and can help us monitor how our leaky dams behave in storms and change over time. Look out for numbered fixed-point photography posts with white tops – you can use your phone to capture images and submit these to secretary@slowtheflow.net.
Find our more about Slow the Flow; http://slowtheflow.net/