A thriving floodplain for people and wildlife
August 17, 2023
The River Ribble floodplain at Long Preston is home to seasonal wetlands that are rich with life and are nationally important for breeding wading birds.
Over the last 21 months we’ve been collaborating with farmers and the Ribble Rivers Trust to restore more than 10 hectares of habitat on the floodplain – creating connected nature-rich spaces for our wetland wildlife.
This includes 16 separate habitat schemes, 4,678 trees and 748 metres of hedgerow and walls – creating new wildlife corridors and providing natural flood management to protect the wetlands and tributaries.
The Long Preston Floodplain Project first started back in 2004 with the aim of enhancing the wildlife value of this nationally important site – known locally as the Deeps. A grant from the Green Recovery Challenge Fund (GRCF) has enabled us to expand this work through the Deeper Connections project.
The project has helped people of all ages to make connections with the floodplain through school activities, outreach events, graveyard trails, a virtual tour, exhibition…and more! It’s been brilliant to see people coming together to discover and learn about the Deeps and take action to help protect them.
The benefits so far…
- 6,485 people have discovered the Deeps through our Long Preston Floodplain Virtual Tour and online resources
- 4,300 people took part in activities and events – including our exhibition and graveyard trails
- 16 habitat schemes have been completed – creating and restoring wildlife corridors and riparian strips covering 10.6 hectares
- 4,678 trees planted (including 88 landscape trees)
- 748 metres of new native hedgerow and wall restoration
- 2.5 full-time equivalent jobs supported
- 59 farmers took part in training and advisory events
- 124 local schoolchildren and teachers engaged
- 192 people from under-represented groups have visited the floodplain from nearby urban areas
Find out more about our work in the Long Preston Floodplain
