New Thames channel reopens river to wildlife in £2m project

New Thames channel reopens river to wildlife in £2m project - BBOWT

The new Thames channel at Chimney Meadows created by BBOWT as part of its £2m Water Environment Grant (WEG) project. Picture: Pete Hughes

BBOWT's groundbreaking scheme will also help tackle climate change.

A GROUNDBREAKING project to create a new channel of the River Thames and restore long-lost wildlife habitat has been completed.

The 450-metre watercourse in West Oxfordshire bypasses a manmade weir and will enable fish to swim along a 30km stretch of the Thames and spawn for the first time in more than a century.

Created by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) in a £2 million project at its flagship Chimney Meadows Nature Reserve near Bampton, the channel is already being populated by native fish, birds and mammals.

Working with the Environment Agency, the Trust also created shallow temporary pools called scrapes near the channel. The project has re-established a naturally functioning floodplain habitat which was once common across the UK but was destroyed as rivers were straightened, land was drained and connection with floodplain was lost.

This wetland is now able to store floodwater for longer, helping to protect homes and land from flooding which is predicted to worsen as a result of climate change. The Trust is also working in partnership with Bangor University and the EA who are undertaking research to demonstrate that active floodplains can store carbon and be part of the solution to the climate crisis.

Estelle Bailey, BBOWT’s Chief Executive, said: "This project is an absolutely amazing achievement for restoring vital habitats for wildlife to move freely while tackling climate change. Our mission as a Trust is to put nature into recovery: we want to see 30 per cent of land in our three counties properly managed for wildlife by 2030, and this is a golden piece of that wild jigsaw puzzle. We know we cannot tackle climate change without restoring nature, and this project is a shining example to the whole world of how we can achieve that by working together to bring wildlife back."