Pevensey Levels Wetland Restoration Project
Sussex Wildlife Trust and National Highways have joined forces to launch an exciting and ambitious Network for Nature project to bring Pevensey Levels back to life as one of the great biodiverse wetlands of the UK, benefiting people, nature and wildlife.
With £600,000 funding from the Network for Nature project, we have begun our restoration project by carrying out earth works on our Pevensey Marshes nature reserve. These have been taking place over recent months. The aim is to create a mosaic of habitats by blocking and meandering ditches, digging scrapes and creating deeper ponds as well as undulations. Together, these measures will help ‘re-wet’ the Levels, allowing wetland species to re-colonise lost territories.
We are also working in partnership with farmers, neighbours and partners, in order to raise water levels and create new habitat where we can to restore wetlands more widely on the Pevensey Levels. The aim is to create an archipelago of wetland habitat right across the Levels providing stepping stones for species to move through the landscape.
As you might expect, initially the transformation is creating a lot of mud!
The groundworks were completed in December 2024, and the results are incredible:
- 3km of winding, wiggly ditches dug
- 30 tennis courts' worth of new wetland habitat created
- 15 football pitches' worth of re-flooded wetland restored
We will keep you up to date as to progress along the way, as the restoration of the habitat will slowly begin.
Bringing wildlife back to the Pevensey Levels webinar
Webinar presented by Nature Recovery Project Officer, Charlotte Pestell, introducing the Pevensey Marshes Nature Reserve and explaining why this is such an important area for wildlife
