Types of project
Wetland restoration and habitat creation
There are all kinds of reasons that wetlands are great!... sorry am I repeating myself?
Here we have ecosystems that improve the quality of our water, protect us from flooding, store carbon, provide incredibly rich habitat for lots of different species, are beautiful and magnificent....
…yet have been in catastrophic decline in recent decades. I’ll not bore you with the statistics, just check out some of the links below.
This is why governments and NGOs have given a lot of attention to protecting and restoring wetland ecosystems, and Geoff is very proud that Wetland Engineering has been involved in its small way with this effort.
Geoff always tries to make his wetlands botanically diverse, mimicking natural systems as far as possible, and will routinely consult with local specialists to understand the most appropriate ecosystem design for the local conditions, checking that the new wetland will complement any nearby wetland areas.
Control of invasive species is of crucial importance, and Geoff makes sure his project teams understand the provenance of new plants, and manage the risk of accidentally introducing unwanted seeds with imported compost or nursery plants.
Resources
Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, Why Wetlands are amazing!
Wetland Vision - Maps of historic and current extent of UK wetlands
Mine-Water Treatment
Mines allow air into places that mother nature never intended it to go! This air causes changes to the chemistry of the rocks, and when the mine fills with groundwater at the end of its life, the altered rock chemistry affects groundwater, which can become very acidic or contaminated with heavy metals.
This “mine water” can cause environmental problems when it emerges from the ground, including the characteristic orange coloured streams caused by ferric hydroxide (ochre) particles.
Wetlands are often a good solution for treating mine water, as they need no power and minimal maintenance, so are well suited to the remote locations. The UK Coal Authority has built dozens of reed bed treatment systems to remove iron from coal mine water, and is beginning to look at treating water from our old metal mines too.
Resources: