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Home > Spaces and species > WaterLife

 

Houghton Regis Marl Lake SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest). Photo by John Comont

Waterways are central to the character of Bedfordshire. The Ouse, Ivel and Flit Rivers wind their way through the landscape, past the towns and villages built on their banks. Once important for navigation and trade, these shallow rivers have been extensively modified for boat traffic. Nowadays, however, some sections of the rivers and their banks are returning to a more natural state.

 

Did you know that Bedfordshire has no natural lakes? All the county’s lakes are artificial! Bedfordshire sits atop large deposits of sand and gravel, which over the years have been quarried out. The disused quarries have filled with water, creating the many small lakes dotting the landscape today. Some now even have fish, for which local anglers head out at dawn, rod and reel in hand.

 

Wetlands – or mires – are among the most productive habitats. This is where land meets water, and creatures that use both environments concentrate here. Wetlands are home to all kinds of life: fish, reeds, mosses, dragonflies, birds, algae and much more. Unfortunately Bedfordshire’s wetlands became limited as the land was drained and the water table dropped. Those that remain tend to be very small and so are all the more valuable.

 

The Bedfordshire & Luton Biodiversity Action Plan includes the following plans related to aquatic habitats and species:

 

Waterways & Wetlands

Floodplain grazing marsh
Reedbed

European otter

Marsh violet

Scarce blue-tailed damselfly

Spined loach

Water vole

White-clawed crayfish

 

 

Breathing Places is a ground breaking collaboration between the BBC and leading wildlife and conservation organisations

                                          

Why not help to create a breathing place where you live?

                                             

For more information go to: bbc.co.uk/breathingplaces   

 

The Summer 08 issue of Beds BioNews is out! Have a look at what we're up to!

 

The May 2008 issue of the Beds & Luton Geology Group newsletter is out! Click here to find out the latest scoop!

The 2008 Community Tree Trust woodland wildflowers seed collection days are being held on June 22, June 29 and July 20. Check out their website for full details!

 

Bedfordshire & Luton Biodiversity Partnership

℅ Bedfordshire County Council, County Hall Room 550, Cauldwell Street, Bedford MK42 9AP