Funds raised by players of People’s Postcode Lottery are paying dividends for WWT’s Washington Wetland Centre in the North East.
Over the last year the WWT has received a £225,000 boost through support of players of People’s Postcode Lottery, and part of that vital funding has gone towards enhancing an area of key habitat at the award-winning nature reserve on the River Wear. The result is that 2016 has been one of the centre’s best breeding seasons for lapwing, while other wetland birds including avocet and redshank have also benefited.
The enhancement project introduced a new system for filtering water from treatment ponds, to provide ideal non-permanent wet meadow habitat at WWT Washington.
Previously storm water run-off at the centre was filtered through wetlands. Whilst effective, water was running too quickly through the wastewater treatment facility, resulting in channelling and erosion which made it difficult to manage the meadows effectively for wetland birds.
Preparation began in March 2016 when a main water outlet was unblocked, and June saw the addition of pre-planted coir matting into the bottom treatment pond, reinforcing the pond edges and bolstering the plants which are key in filtering the water. The work continued in late summer when staff and volunteers infilled previously-eroded channels, allowing them to re-colonise with meadow plant species, while additional coir matting was introduced and further pipe work installed.
John Gowland, reserve manager at WWT Washington, said:
“We’re thrilled at the results this project has had, with 2016 being one of the best breeding seasons for lapwing so far on our site, something we’re sure would have been extremely unlikely before this work was carried out.
“Thanks to the support of players of the People’s Postcode Lottery, this project will greatly enhance feeding opportunities for wading birds such as lapwing, redshank and avocet, especially youngsters as the tall vegetation provides great cover from predators. We’re confident the project will bring extra protection for a variety of wildlife and will help support successful breeding for many species.”