It is essentail that we keep water at the correct level. On Cowpen Marsh we are aiming to keep most of the ditches full of fresh water and to do this there are quite a few sluices which prevent the ingress of sea water. Any damage to these sluices has to be repaired and today we were working on one of them. Water was leaking round the side of the concrete blocks so we inserted plastic pilings behind which we placed clay and mud to make a good repair.
Ed rams home a pile, and we get ready to shift the clay.
And this is the view looking South across the marsh.
It is encouraging to see how well the vegetation has recovered after the flooding of 5th December last year when we had the tidal surge.
This is a very delicate area so access is limited to the car park and the hide on Greatham Creek - the one for the seals - but good views can be had from the hide as it is raised on the embankment. For those who don't know the area the marsh, which we manage, is North of the main reserve on the A178.
Thanks to Josh for the photos.
Peter