A 1.5-kilometre river enhancement project has taken place this month on the River Hiz at Ickleford, to the north of Hitchin to protect a ‘hot spot’ where wild Brown Trout spawn.

The work, which took place over two weeks in early September, has seen large wood features added to the river, with trees hinged and dead wood added to the water to locally speed up flows, scour silt, and to create areas of shaggy cover, which will benefit the local Trout population. Another key benefit of the initiative is that it will strengthen the river’s resilience to low flows, an increasingly important consideration given this summer’s drought. 

The project, which has been funded by the Environment Agency, has also included practical restoration training for volunteers from the River Hiz Conservation Group who will help to maintain and monitor the area. The local group have also benefitted from water testing kits, funded by Hitchin Rotary Club, as part of a wider programme of citizen science work to monitor our chalk streams, led by the Trust.

Sarah Perry, Rivers Recovery Manager at Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust, said:

“Rivers are the lifeblood of our communities, economies and ecosystems, they are vital for much of our native wildlife, they supply water, tame floods and offer us spaces where we connect with the natural world. Here, in Hertfordshire, we have a special duty to protect rivers as we are custodians of 10% of the world’s chalk streams. These unique ecosystems support a rich diversity of wildlife and support some of our most vulnerable species, including critically endangered Water Voles, wild Brown Trout, Kingfishers, and aquatic plants, such as Water Crowfoot. That’s why projects like this one on the River Hiz are so important.

“While the Trust has managed the enhancement work and our contractors have handled the heavy machinery, the River Hiz Conservation Group and the local community will now be instrumental in protecting the health of the river and the wildlife it supports moving forward. This is very much the case of the saying; it takes a village!”

The River Hiz is a chalk river, which rises to the south of the village of Charlton, on the outskirts of Hitchin and winds its way through north Hertfordshire, before it merges with the River Ivel north of Ickleford. It is one of only around 260 chalk rivers in the world.

In England, only 14% of rivers have good ecological status and there are very limited examples of naturally unmodified rivers left. This has resulted in rivers being cut off from their floodplains and the loss of the ‘sponges’ this habitat provides for flood waters, lost wildlife, channelised rivers, dented water resources and, consequently, we are seeing more floods, more insurance payouts and rising costs.

The River Hiz enhancement is the latest in a succession of projects by the Trust to restore the fortunes of chalk streams in the area. Last year, the Trust completed a seven-year project to restore a seven-kilometre stretch of the River Ash to its original course, on the Easneye Estate near Hertford, also creating an extensive range of new wetland habitats to benefit wildlife. The landmark project for nature’s recovery is thought to be one of the most ambitious river restoration projects to have taken place in the south east, and this was recognised with the project being awarded the UK River Prize at The River Restoration Centre (RRC) Awards held earlier this year.

For more information about how the Trust is working for the health of local rivers and their communities, click here. 

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