An ambitious project to restore nature-rich wetlands along the River Severn is inviting local people to find out more about its plans later this month.
Eelscapes is a Landscape Recovery project aiming to revive more than 1,300 hectares of floodplain wetlands between Tewkesbury and the south of Gloucester. The initiative focuses on helping wildlife such as the endangered European eel, as well as delivering benefits for local communities.
The project is one of 22 pilot Landscape Recovery schemes across England to receive development funding from Defra. Over the past two years, local conservation charities WWT – the charity for wetlands and wildlife – and Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust have been working alongside the Environment Agency, land managers and communities across the Severn Vale to shape detailed proposals.
By restoring wetland habitats, the project aims to support vulnerable species including the European eel and true fox-sedge, while also creating landscapes that absorb and hold water more naturally. Organisers say this will help reduce flood and drought risk, improve climate resilience for farming businesses, and provide new opportunities for recreation, education and wellbeing.
Members of the public are being invited to learn more at an information event on Tuesday January 27, from 3pm to 7pm, at Ashleworth Memorial Hall, GL19 4JG. The event follows well-attended sessions in Tewkesbury and Gloucester, where proposals were met with strong support.
At earlier events, people with disabilities welcomed planned path upgrades that would further improve access to Tewkesbury Nature Reserve. One visitor said: “I’m really excited about this project and its potential for Tewkesbury and our green spaces.”
Ben Spencer, Eelscapes Stakeholder Advisor at Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust, said the project would work with land managers rather than against them.
“Our proposals aim to support local land managers by creating conditions that help the land absorb and hold water more naturally,” he said. “This means restoring features that buffer against flood and drought, helping farm businesses become more resilient in a changing climate, while creating new ways for communities to engage with nature.”
Jenni Blakeman, Head of Landscape Recovery at the Trust, said projects like Eelscapes were essential to reversing nature’s decline.
“Landscape Recovery is an excellent way of delivering the Lawton principles of ‘more, bigger, better and joined up’ habitats,” she said. “It helps create ecological networks that can withstand pressures such as climate change, while also supporting the Government’s commitment to protect 30 per cent of land and sea for nature by 2030.”
She added that the long-term nature of the programme, spanning more than 20 years, offers greater financial certainty for land managers and recognises the wider value of ecosystems, including education, health and wellbeing benefits for communities.
The project is funded by Natural England through a Defra Landscape Recovery Project Development Grant. To help visualise the long-term vision, two computer-generated images have been created showing how rural and urban areas of the Severn Vale could look by 2045. Further information, including the images, is available through the project’s online Storymap.