Members of Guilsfield WI helped weave willow fish nest boxes
The Severn Rivers Trust (SRT) has supported a community collaboration in Guilsfield in a hands on nature based project through the Severn Valley Water Management Scheme (SVWMS).
Members of the Guilsfield Village WI joined in with weaving living willow fish nest boxes and then Year 6 pupils from Guilsfield Primary School and WI members helped place them in the local brook, led by SRT river restoration officer Dewi Morris and catchment assistant Charlotte Davies.
The children also took part in river health monitoring, sampling invertebrates and learning about the importance of habitat enhancement.
The baskets, crafted from willow and lined with sacking strips, provide refuge for aquatic invertebrates during high-flow events, supporting the ecological health of the brook
Dewi said:-
“I spent a very pleasant evening weaving the living willow fish nest boxes with the Guilsfield WI and after soaking them in water so that the willow was rooted, I was helped by Charlotte as we took the children down to the Guilsfield Brook local to them to sample the invertebrates and find out more about the health of their river and install the living willow fish nest boxes.”
Tom Dainty Shropshire Council deputy cabinet member with responsibility for the environment, added:-
“This is a marvellous project that has captured the community’s imagination. The crafting of the nesting boxes was undoubtedly a great hands-on experience for the WI group and the children will have learned so much about the brook’s habitat and ecology by being out of the classroom and in the brook.
“Thanks to Dewi and Charlotte for being so actively involved in the community and engaging people in their work on behalf of the demonstrator project and the wider SVWMS.”
The community initiative was delivered as part of the Guilsfield Demonstrator Project, managed by Shropshire Council, and developed to help inform the SVWMS as it creates a holistic water management strategy for the upper Severn catchment.
