The James Tuttiett Charitable Trust was delighted to support a project run by the South Downs Trust, which is dear to our hearts, the River Meon. The project will build on the work of the Meon Valley Partnership, who have spent the last 8 years delivering a Water Vole Reintroduction project.
This project considered 60 potential locations for water vole suitability, including bankside vegetation, feeding opportunities and banks for burrowing, selecting 20 sites. Over the next 6 years, 2833 water voles were released resulting in a successful re-establishment. Monitoring data shows that water voles are now breeding on all 20 sites.
The aim of this project is to strengthen the recently re-established water vole populations of the River Meon, leading to improved habitats for this and many other species. The Meon is one of only 200 chalk streams in the world and has one of the steepest flows of all the chalk streams in the UK, making it a rare and important habitat, ecosystem and resource.
The Meon is fed almost entirely by springs rather than by rain, and supports a unique ecology. Less famous and smaller than the Rivers Test and Itchen, it is a more ‘natural’ river, with fewer modification made by man and has more energy due to its steeper gradient. The river rises near East Meon and flow south-westwards for 21 miles through the Meon Valley before emptying into the Solent estuary at Titchfield Haven.
The water vole was chosen for reintroduction and monitoring to the River Meon because they are an important part of the jigsaw that makes up a healthy river system. They keep riverbanks in good condition and are vital for the animal food chain, benefitting many species such as dragon flies, damson, eels, field voles, fish and waterfowl.
The Meon Valley Partnership was formed in 2008, from a group of local organisations who, as well as the local community, were concerned about the health of the river. As part of their work, a 10-year strategy was put in place to return the river to a more naturally functioning state. One of the first projects the partnership put in place, was to reintroduce water voles back to the River Meon. They were noted as locally extinct in the Meon Valley just after the millennium, with no records within the river valley from 2003 onwards.
A donation by the JTCT has contributed towards securing the health of the River Meon and the long-term sustainability of this water vole population. To ensure this is maintained regular survey and monitoring work together with improvements to the riverbanks are required which include planting diverse native flora, tree planting, fencing and de-channelling. To find out more please visit the South Downs Trust
https://southdownstrust.org.uk/ or Meon Valley Partnership
https://www.meonvalleypartnership.org.uk
© Andy Reeves