We have recently been working with the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust to make some changes to the River Went which passes through our farm. This work is part of their Living Went project with the aim of improving the water quality and creating and restoring water dependent habitats and ecosystems in the river, a tributary of the River Don.
They have been carrying out work on sections of the river with the aim of improving habitats for fish, invertebrates, and plants in the river. This has involved installing tree kickers by putting trees or branches in the river secured to the bank. These structures create a more diverse flow regime by slowing the flow of water passing through the tree causing the water flowing round to tree to speed up resulting in scouring of the riverbed and discouraging the deposition of silt.
We look forward to seeing the impact of this over the coming years.