2024 Appeal Success: Creating New Wetland Habitats for Wading Birds

Thanks to our wonderful 2024 appeal donations, new wetland habitats for wading birds are now thriving at Bere Marsh Farm in Dorset and Lark Rise Farm in Cambridgeshire. Discover how your support made it possible. 

As we launch the Countryside Regeneration Trust’s new 2025 Christmas appeal, we are thrilled to share exciting news from our 2024 appeal Habitats for Wading Birds.  

Thanks to generous donations, newly created wetland scrapes and leaky dams are already helping restore vital habitat for wading birds at Bere Marsh Farm and Lark Rise Farm. 

Why wetland habitat matters for wading birds 

Across the UK, many wading bird species are declining due to loss of wetland habitat. In winter, wading birds need soft, wet, muddy ground so they can probe for insects and other invertebrates. When soil becomes too dry or compacted, feeding becomes difficult and survival rates fall. 

By creating new scrapes, shallow channels and leaky dams, we are restoring the natural wetland environment these birds urgently need. 

Scrapes already holding water at Bere Marsh Farm 

At Bere Marsh Farm, the new habitat has been developed in Nine Acres, with the team shaping a shallow, muddy gutter leading to a low spot, which has been widened into a scrape.  

Hannah Bosence, Bere Marsh Farm Estate Manager, said: “I'm thrilled our wetland ditches have been filling up with the recent rain.  

“It's been really interesting to watch how the various streams have appeared and it's worked exactly how our experienced digger operator has said it would. I even disturbed a heron on my fist visit as it was exploring the new wet areas on the field.” 
 
Hannah is very much looking forward to seeing more wetland birds visiting over the winter. 

“I do love it when a plan comes together and thanks so much to everyone who donated to our appeal to make this happen at Bere Marsh,” she added. 

At Bere Marsh Farm, we will have volunteers monitoring birds over the coming months and we will keep you updated on what they see.  

Please note the field has no public access and is not visible from public rights of way. The least disturbance from people the better for wildlife! Thank you for your understanding. 

Leaky dams created at Lark Rise Farm 
 
At Lark Rise Farm, we will be carrying out the scrapes creation work in the summer 2026 as we are taking the opportunity this winter to observe the site during any flood events so we can make sure the shallow scrapes and channels we do make are positioned appropriately for the topography, and identify water vole burrows. 

Our volunteers have, however, already created a series of five leaky dams along a drainage ditch to create mini wetlands and reduce silt in Bourn Brook. 

Conservation officer Vince Lea said: “These simple yet effective structures slow the flow of water, allowing it to back up and form a chain of mini ponds.  These features will help transform the area into a thriving wetland, providing feeding and nesting opportunities for a wide range of wetland birds, as well as improving conditions for invertebrates and reducing sediment runoff into the brook.” 

The Environment Agency permit at Lark Rise is in place to do the works next summer. 
 
“We have marked out roughly where the scrapes will go next summer, using fluorescent topped canes, and, if it floods, we’ll see if the water is naturally choosing those spots. It makes sense to do the excavation in the lowest points where water naturally accumulates,” added Vince. 

Our 2025 Christmas appeal to help support hazel dormice 

Our Christmas Appeal for 2025 is now well underway too. We’re looking to raise £6,000 to help us improve habitat for hazel dormice and discover more populations across our farms.  

At Turnastone Court Farm, where we know dormice are already present, we want to create a new wildlife corridor, also known as a shelter belt, connecting two areas of woodland, so they can travel more safely between habitats.   

Across six farms in Herefordshire, Dorset and Surrey, we will also install special footprint tunnels to help us confirm where more dormice populations exist. 

The results at Bere Marsh and Lark Rise show how much can be achieved through your donations to help look after nature across our farms. 

If you would like to help us create next year’s success story, please consider donating to our 2025 Christmas Appeal. 

Donate here: www.thecrt.co.uk/dormice-appeal 

Published: November, 2025