Colwick Park Reedbed Creation

Our Land Management and ecology teams consulted with the Client and other key stakeholders to develop a plan which allowed for a different method of reedbed creation to be used in each area.

Area 1 was created by excavating an area of grassland and pushing the spoil into the water to create shallows. The area was split into two halves with small reed plugs planted on one side and established potted reeds on the other. This was primarily to compare the cost vs speed of development ratio using planted reeds.

For the creation of Area 2, EMEC excavated reed rhizomes from a nearby site and spread them thinly across the target area. EMEC had used this method several times in the past and were keen to compare its establishment and development with the Area 1 reed planting given the same environment.

Both areas were fenced to protect from the substantial risk of grazing from Canada geese and other wildfowl. This fencing was then removed in a 2021 maintenance visit.

Conclusion

The varied methodologies on the project resulted in several areas of learning, including:

• In the long term the smaller reeds will catch up with larger plants. This has positive implications in terms of funding as reed plugs are significantly cheaper and quicker to plant.
• Both Area 1 & 2 were dependant on the water depth being suitable, the planted reeds required the area to be levelled to create uniform shallows (approx. 20cm) as they would struggle to grow in deeper water. There was little difference in the growth of the rhizomes between the shallower and deeper areas (60cm+) of the naturally graded beach.

The use of excavated rhizomes is subject to local availability and was significantly more expensive to complete given the need for excavators, dumpers, grab lorries and operators.

Area 1 Before and After

Area 2 Before and After