Downstream of Halford Bridge (old bridge) there are willow trees that have come down into the river. It seems like the right thing to do to remove them, but this is not the case. Unless the trees pose a flood risk then it is better for the health of the river if you leave them in place. We have some substantial trees down at the moment and these were assessed on site by the Environment Agency Flood Risk Officer in September who consulted with colleagues. Between them they have said that the trees don't create an increased flood risk as they are downstream of the bridge and adjacent to a functional flood plain. They said that the longer we leave the wood in the river the better for biodiversity.  The trees are also hinged from the fixed landward trunk so there is little chance of the trees becoming mobilised in a flood and causing problems downstream. You can find out more from a really good Wildlife Trust document called "Fish live in trees too", it's worth a search on Google!

Today we had a visit from two Environment Agency (EA) officers Vicki Liu and Tracy Doherty to look at potential gains in biodiversity and flood alleviation on Halford Flood Meadow. Dr Nick Stegall from Middlemarch Environmental was also present to collaborate on the many different exciting design proposals that the flood meadow presents. The Environment Agency officers were extremely helpful and supportive of plans to reconnect the river to the floodplain and create a more biodiverse habitat within both the river channel and floodplain. The words incised and over deep were used many times when referring to the channel shape which means that the river doesn't have many opportunities to use its floodplain and therefore the energy of the river is causing vertical erosion of the bed, lowering it and disconnecting it further from the floodplain. If the floodplain was more connected the river would spill out more often taking pressure off the river channel and therefore allowing habitats to form through natural processes. Thanks to the EA and Middlemarch for this time today, it was insightful, encouraging and very exciting to know that we can make a difference to this part of the River Stour and contribute to the wider goal of reversing climate change.

Storm Geomatics is a surveying company that focusses on capturing geospatial data in and around water. The data is mostly used to inform flood mapping projects and environmental studies however it has been used for a multitude of other interesting and watery projects too! Storm Geomatics threw all available resources on the regeneration project and coordinated a magnificent team effort to get the five hectare flood meadow surveyed in 2 hours flat! The survey results will provide a detailed floodplain map showing flow paths and spill points as well as the legacy embankments made up of dredging's from the 1980s. By understanding how the floodplain functions will help inform the best management plan for biodiversity across the meadow. Storm Geomatics will continue to support Storm Wildlife and will be measuring the river channel, bridges and flood tunnels in the area to add to the flood meadow data and create a hydraulic model of the immediate river catchment. The model is then used to experiment with potential changes to the embankments and management of the meadow to produce the optimum outcome for an increase in biodiversity and flood alleviation.

Today we are looking at the soil structure and nutrient levels in different areas of the meadow. This could inform us that we need to manage different parts of the meadow in different ways to achieve better biodiversity and flood alleviation. We are finding that soil depths vary in relation to the overland flow paths - interesting! These surveys and many more will all be used to create a management plan that will maximise biodiversity and have the greatest benefit to flood alleviation.