Work begins on new Great Fen project reserve

Groundwork has begun to create a new wetland as part of the Great Fen project in Cambridgeshire.

Work at New Decoy Farm near Ramsey will create channels that will fill with water, helping turn former arable fields into a mosaic of reedbeds, grassland and ponds.

Last year, the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire purchased Speechly's Farm, following a successful fundraising campaign. The purchase will help the charity to connect Woodwalton Fen and Holme Fen National Nature Reserves and expand its fenland restoration project, making a large corridor of prime habitat for rare and localised wildlife, while also locking carbon into the ground.

The Great Fen project aims to connect Woodwalton Fen and Holme Fen National Nature Reserves, making a large corridor of prime habitat for wildlife (Walter Schulenburg).

Great Fen wetland restoration

Now, work at New Decoy Farm will see another major development in the five-year Great Fen project get underway. The restoration is part of one of the latest phases of the Great Fen vision, called the Peatland Progress, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

The new wetland will be created alongside a large winter water storage pool, ditches, and water control structures.

Lorna Parker, Great Fen project manager, said: "A lot of planning and preparation work has led up to this moment, so it is fantastic to see the diggers breaking ground at New Decoy for the first time. It's great timing as this spring marks 25 years since we first started out on the Great Fen journey.

"It will look a bit messy in the short-term as we move earth about, but the vegetation will quickly grow back and there will be a newly transformed landscape where people can enjoy nature for generations to come," she added.

Great Fen turns 25

The Great Fen Vision began in 2000 as the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire came together with other bodies to create a 36-sq-km wetland landscape.

Nearly 2,000 ha of land is now under restoration management and work is set to begin at Speechly's Farm to continue joining the two National Nature Reserves.

Find out more at www.greatfen.org.uk.