Wilder Ouse review of 2023

Lydia Baxter

Wilder Ouse Project Officer

Hello! Chiming in just in time to celebrate 2023. Having been with the Sussex Wildlife Trust for around four months now, it is safe to say that it feels as though I have been here for much longer. The team are a delight and I feel right at home in the catchment, having grown up in the area and finally settling back in my hometown.

It has been truly wonderful to see how many landowners, community groups, schools and clubs are interested in the environment and how many of those want to make a difference themselves. We have been lucky enough to witness that enthusiasm first hand, with numerous clubs and landowners reaching out to the project to see how we can help them, and even more graciously, how they can help us.

I am enjoying getting started on our project delivery, which started in the last week of November, where we began to follow in the footsteps of the Sussex Flow Initiative, focussing our efforts on natural flood management initiatives, including the creation of leaky dams, scrapes, and swales. 

We are also going to be also work on habitat creation, by making a series of hibernacula for our reptile and amphibian friends, who will greatly appreciate the opportunity to escape the harsher winter months.

If you’re thinking of doing something for your native wildlife this winter, then why not consider creating your own hibernaculum in your garden, or perhaps even a bucket pond?

Happy new year everyone from the Wilder Ouse Project.