16. Cassiobury Park Wetlands Restoration Project

Aims: Involve people with their local waterbodies; Improve wildlife corridors

Water body: River Gade

Project description

Cassiobury Park Wetlands Restoration Project – Autumn 2023

Plans to boost Watford’s biodiversity, protect the area’s unique local habitat and create a wildlife wetland sanctuary in Cassiobury Park Nature Reserve are taking shape.

In September 2023 an area of dried-up watercress beds, 1 hectare in size, was dug out in the nature reserve to provide open water with the historic walls of the cress beds providing valuable marginal habitat. In addition, a wildlife pond has been increased in size tenfold and a linear wetland fed by the River Gade has been restored so it can again provide a refuge for fish and invertebrates to hide from predators.

This has been made possible thanks to; the work of Watford Borough Council who led the project, funding from the Environment Agency and Grundon, and support from project partners including Friends of Cassiobury Park, Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust and Community Connection Projects CIC.

The restoration of the watercress beds, which have slowly declined after not being actively managed since 1991, means that once the wetlands have matured, the area will become a valuable habitat. It will be complete with watercourses, ponds and scrapes, and preserve the flood plain functionality of the area. Alder trees have also been planted to stabilise banks and wet meadow loving wildflowers planted in areas where they will thrive. The work creates valuable diverse wetland habitats, of which Hertfordshire has seen a massive decline in recent years and this will, in the long term, boost local biodiversity.

The wetlands restoration will help the area become an excellent space for birds, like snipe and green sandpiper and for insects and crustaceans, such as freshwater shrimp, and provide a large and relatively accessible site for observing and learning about nature. Volunteers will help manage the wetlands and school groups will benefit from seeing the diversity of habitats.

Restoration work has included preserving the watercress bed structures, removing silt from the channels that used to house the watercress beds, re-opening the river inlet, clearing the feeder channels and exit into the river, and constructing a viewing platform. Elsewhere a horseshoe shaped linear pond has been restored, connected to the river and a wildlife pond enlarged. Additionally, a new pedestrian footbridge and has been installed to enhance accessibility and ensure safety and protection for wildlife.

More Information

Works to start on exciting wetland restoration project in Cassiobury Park Nature Reserve, July 23

Wetlands Project - Friends of Cassiobury Park 2024

Protecting Watford’s Wetland Wonderland – A tale of collaboration and community at Cassiobury Park Nature Reserve - Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust, April 2024

Project lead: Watford Borough Council

Project partners: Environment Agency, Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust

Contact for more information: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Project start: 2018