Last year saw the first stage in the works to enhance habitats at Radipole Lake by the creation and/or restoration of a network of ditches and pools across the site, the biggest piece of work the reserve has seen for over a quarter of a century and, yesterday, the diggers came back to finish the job! When it is all over, in around 5 or 6 weeks, we will have a rich network of reed fringed pools, ditches, fen and marsh all set within a mixture of wet and dry reedbed which will provide an improved home for our existing wildlife and, we hope, attract a whole range of other creatures to set up home with us.
If you are planing on visiting do, please, call ahead, as there may be times we have to close the hide for a few hours, for safety reasons, and, although we will try and keep this, and other impacts of the work, to an absolute minimum, there will be times when it is unavoidable, so please accept our apologies in advance if our work to improve the reserve for its wildlife and you, our visitors, effects your visit.
We will aim to bring you an update at least every other day over the next few weeks, including pictures, but here, below, are a few from the works undertaken last year, to show you just what is possible, with time, effort and an 18 tonne digger!
The reedbed at the top of the reserve before we started work......
and the same location after the works were complete (taken in February)......
And a sample of just how amazing the transformation can be, this (picture taken in September 2009)...
turned into this (picture taken July 2010)....