Summer Fundraising: New Wildlife Hotspot at Washfield Wetland

Update 21.10.24 – Thanks to generous donations, we raised a total of £18,250 in support of this brilliant project. We are hugely grateful to all our supporters who got behind this wonderful project enabling wildlife shelters and habitats to be purchased with the funds raised.

Opportunity to make a big difference for nature by helping to kickstart a new wildlife hotspot on the River Exe!

This summer we’re fundraising to be able to support the start-up costs of the ambitious new Washfield Wetland site – a collaboration of local farmers and landowners who have come together to create a haven for wildlife in Lower Washfield, near Tiverton in Mid Devon.

The site is aiming to extend to 200+ acres over the next three years and will provide a multitude of benefits for people and nature.

The creation of an extensive new wetland habitat will dramatically increase local biodiversity whilst improving river water quality, reducing soil run-off, and reducing flooding at key sites downstream, including Tiverton High School and Tiverton Hospital.

DEF needs to raise £19,950 in order to support this inspiring Wildlife Recovery and Natural Flood Management project.

The money we raise will enable Wild Tiverton CIC to purchase and build vital wildlife shelters and habitats, to help wildlife populations to recover, plus an observation hide to allow people to study and record the wildlife recovery.

DEF’s Advisory Board of leading local nature experts recommended we support this local rewilding project, however we don’t currently have sufficient funds available.

Can you help DEF support Washfield Wetland on the Exe?

More information below. Full grant application, project budget, and timelines are available on request.

Please get in touch to donate towards or fully sponsor the ambitious Washfield Wetland project on the River Exe.

 

Please spread the word among fellow local wildlife lovers! 🦫🦌🦔🦉🦋🦎

Thank you for any support you are able to give.

More Information

Species the new equipment will support:

  • Wooden wildlife tower: Barn Owl, Kestrel, Little Owl, Stock Dove, small hole-nesting birds such as Blue Tit and House Sparrow, plus Robin, Swallow and House Martin, invertebrates such as over-wintering Butterflies (e.g. Peacock, Red Admiral) lacewings, Bats (e.g. Horseshoe, Pipistrelle, Serotine, Long-eared, Daubentons), Toads, Slow Worms and Lizards.
  • Raptor perch: Buzzard, Kestrel, Hobby, Sparrowhawk, Tawny Owl, Long-eared Owl, Barn Owl, Goshawk, and Red Kites.
  • Osprey platforms: Ospreys.
  • Sand Martin artificial hide: Sand Martins.
  • Reptile hotel: Slow Worms, Grass Snake, Adder, Common Lizard.
  • Harvest Mouse area: Preparation of 1/2 acre site within the project boundaries for release of 220 harvest mice in spring 2025; strimming grass & rotavating the soil; planting with cocksfoot, greater tussock sedge and other key plants; planting windbreak trees; installation of small pre-formed pond for water supply in drought times.
  • Bird & Bat boxes: A recent survey showed 22 species of bats passed through the site over 48 hours which was very encouraging.

 

In the coming years, as the wetland develops, new habitats and food sources will be created to allow many species to find their own way to the site – and then they hope to re-introduce Water Voles, Harvest Mice, Beavers, Mole Crickets, Glow Worms and possibly even Storks.

Images credits: Kevin Keatley.

Further Information

Everyone in the Tiverton area of Mid Devon has experienced the impacts of the river Exe flooding, whether it’s their home being inundated, roads becoming impassable, or sports matches being cancelled. As climate change intensifies, this flooding will become more frequent.

Equally, most local people know about the catastrophic loss of Britain’s wildlife over the last 50 years. Many older residents remember the river bursting with salmon and eels when they were children and most despair at the polluted, empty stretch of water it has become in recent years.

WASHFIELD WETLAND: More than ten landowners and farmers between Tiverton and Cove in Mid Devon have come together to create a new vision for the Exe. Instead of a drastically constrained river passing through agricultural fields stripped of almost all vegetation and supporting almost no wildlife, they imagine the river flowing through an interlinked series of wet woodlands, reed beds and rough grasslands abounding with every type of wildlife from the tiniest beetle to Devon’s iconic beavers, otters, salmon, kingfishers and water voles.

A river flowing much more freely over her  floodplain, creating a mosaic of pools and ponds, dams, scrapes and bunds. A kaleidoscope of riparian habitats supporting a treasure trove of wild creatures. Washfield Wetland is a new wildlife recovery zone right in the heart of the Exe valley.

The aim is both to help decrease flooding in Tiverton downstream and to begin to reverse the drastic loss of biodiversity in the river catchment, whilst also contributing to tackling climate change through carbon sequestration.

There are already many fantastic rewilding sites up and down Britain – from Knepp and 42 Acres to Heal and Haweswater. Washfield Wetland aims to be a new jewel in the rewilding crown. One that will not only boost biodiversity, clean the river and help tackle climate change, but also inspire everyone from school children to politicians to get actively involved in restoring our rivers and creating new spaces for nature recovery.

 

A huge thank you to all the donors who generously helped enable this project, including Unique Hideaways.