For a project like this one it's not just the physical environment that needs monitoring. Surveying the fish populations not only allows us to see how our project is affecting the living organisms that use Hoveton Great Broad but also gives us insight into how they use not only our Broad but the connecting water bodies as well.
Sonar cameras use sound to create a picture instead of light. Sound waves aren't affected by turbidity and can create a very similar picture to light; bouncing off obstructions such as fish and casting shadows. These sorts of cameras are also used offshore to provide information on the sea bed and finding shipwrecks. We use this technology to find out how large the fish populations are and where they are at different times of the day.
Bream, pike and perch are all found in the Broad, though the most common is bream. It takes experience to be able to identify the different shapes and shadows in the picture, but it can provide us with a lot of important information such as size and behaviour. Useful for our project we've been able to highlight how the fish use the water ways. For example in the neighbouring Hoveton Little Broad - or Black Horse Broad - we found bream sleeping there during the day and leaving to feed in the river during the night. This highlights that the different areas are important for the fish for different reasons and the health of each one can affect whole populations.
Usefully for our project these surveys also found a 'fish motorway' at one of the openings to Hoveton Great Broad where there were two lanes of traffic; the large and the small fish either leaving or entering the Broad and different times of day. This information can be used for the bio-manipulation part of the project as we can wait until all the large fish leave; placing a barrier to prevent them from re-entering while allowing the small fish to pass through. Then when the small fish have left we can place the second barrier which keeps all fish species out. Other methods of fish removal will also be used to make sure they've all been removed, but this way we can make sure the majority are out of the Broad without having to catch them ourselves.
Furthermore this survey should highlight alternative water habitats for the fish to use instead of Hoveton Great Broad and make sure that the bio-manipulation, while important for the daphnia populations, doesn't impact the fish too severely.
These surveys are very extensive and take about two weeks. Other methods are used other than the sonar cameras such as electro fishing but I wasn't able to see those myself. The main reason for our visit on that day was to get the boat the surveying team lives in for two weeks, refilled with fresh water and have the toilets pumped. Living on a boat may sound glamorous but when that time is spent working - getting wet and muddy - it can be exhausting. Then it can be the little things that help a lot, such as having your groceries delivered to you by a helpful member of the team, or having someone else restock your boat with water so you don't have to take time out of your day to do it, extending the survey even longer.
It was another pleasant day out, not only did I get to see the sonar cameras in action but I got a tour of the section of the river alongside Horning and, yet again, I had lovely weather for it. Not to mention we also saw the wildlife that lives on the Hoveton Little Broad; mainly geese and swans - which I had never seen fly until that day - but also grebe who honoured us with a view of their courtship dance.
Monday 20 February 2017
Water Quality Sampling
Part of the restoration project involves monitoring of the physical environment in order to gauge what impact the project has had. At the end of January the dredging work was set to start and by this point hundreds of data points had already been collected, and hundreds more were still to be collected during and after the project.
This time I entered the Broad from the north side, through the Blofeld estate and got into the boat at the boat house - this time not frozen together. As part of Natural England using petrol fuelled engines to traverse the lake, dumping pollutants in it as we went, wouldn't be appropriate so instead we had an electric one; more environmentally friendly if painfully slow.
Sharing offices, and goals, with the Environment Agency while we were out collecting data for our project we also took samples for them; filling two 1L bottles right to the very top at a site in Hoveton Great Broad and Hudson bay. For our own surveying we had 5 sites on both water bodies at which we used a water quality probe to measure the pH, conductivity and dissolved oxygen levels. We also collected smaller water samples which all went into one bottle - for each water body - to provide an average sample more representative of the whole lake, and bay. These would be analysed by the Environment Agency to give us more detailed information about the water including the zooplankton and macrophyte (aquatic plants) populations. One finally recording we made at each site was the turbidity; using a secchi disc to measure how far down we could see and how deep the bottom was - for most of the sites these measurements were the same.
Quickly I learnt the ropes and the recordings at each site became quicker; the main reason we were out for as long as we were was because of the slow travelling speed of the boat, and waiting for the water probe to calibrate. While it wasn't a sunny day I was yet again lucky with the weather, though on the unsheltered Hoveton Great Broad it did get a little windy. The only problem I had was with my hands which, though gloved, got very wet and cold from collecting the water samples. As well as pulling the mudweight in and out of the boat - one important lesson I learnt was that the fact I was sat in a boat surrounded by water didn't mean I couldn't get very muddy, and I did.
After we'd finished our work on the water and warmed up in the car we visited the offices at Woodbastwick; a converted farm house where the wardens work from in the winter. There was still a little work that needed doing but eventually the Hoveton team would move out there as well. As I have mentioned Hoveton Great Broad sits in the National Nature Reserve of the Bure Marshes and the parts which aren't covered in water are managed by highland cattle.
Currently the Bure Marshes are home to two mature female cattle - around 17 years old - but recently they've acquired 4 juvenile males - between 1 and 3 years. Due to the age difference the boys were brought in as new recruits for nature reserve management, rather than potential mates and currently they are held in separate fields until they are used to each others' presence. The females have spent much of their lives on the marsh, looked after by the wardens and are very comfortable around people though they are still massive, muscular animals with long horns so it's always important to be careful around them, even when accompanied by a warden they know and respect.
The boys on the other hand are still cautious of us and, more importantly, still young and boisterous. We separated ourselves from them to avoid getting caught in the crossfire as they butted heads with each other. Cows may not be widely thought of as the cutest of animals but it was hard not to love these fluffy highlands, and as interesting as water quality monitoring was, seeing them was definitely the highlight of the trip.
This time I entered the Broad from the north side, through the Blofeld estate and got into the boat at the boat house - this time not frozen together. As part of Natural England using petrol fuelled engines to traverse the lake, dumping pollutants in it as we went, wouldn't be appropriate so instead we had an electric one; more environmentally friendly if painfully slow.
Sharing offices, and goals, with the Environment Agency while we were out collecting data for our project we also took samples for them; filling two 1L bottles right to the very top at a site in Hoveton Great Broad and Hudson bay. For our own surveying we had 5 sites on both water bodies at which we used a water quality probe to measure the pH, conductivity and dissolved oxygen levels. We also collected smaller water samples which all went into one bottle - for each water body - to provide an average sample more representative of the whole lake, and bay. These would be analysed by the Environment Agency to give us more detailed information about the water including the zooplankton and macrophyte (aquatic plants) populations. One finally recording we made at each site was the turbidity; using a secchi disc to measure how far down we could see and how deep the bottom was - for most of the sites these measurements were the same.
Quickly I learnt the ropes and the recordings at each site became quicker; the main reason we were out for as long as we were was because of the slow travelling speed of the boat, and waiting for the water probe to calibrate. While it wasn't a sunny day I was yet again lucky with the weather, though on the unsheltered Hoveton Great Broad it did get a little windy. The only problem I had was with my hands which, though gloved, got very wet and cold from collecting the water samples. As well as pulling the mudweight in and out of the boat - one important lesson I learnt was that the fact I was sat in a boat surrounded by water didn't mean I couldn't get very muddy, and I did.
After we'd finished our work on the water and warmed up in the car we visited the offices at Woodbastwick; a converted farm house where the wardens work from in the winter. There was still a little work that needed doing but eventually the Hoveton team would move out there as well. As I have mentioned Hoveton Great Broad sits in the National Nature Reserve of the Bure Marshes and the parts which aren't covered in water are managed by highland cattle.
 |
| From the left; Mani, Andrew, Duffy and Bobby |
The boys on the other hand are still cautious of us and, more importantly, still young and boisterous. We separated ourselves from them to avoid getting caught in the crossfire as they butted heads with each other. Cows may not be widely thought of as the cutest of animals but it was hard not to love these fluffy highlands, and as interesting as water quality monitoring was, seeing them was definitely the highlight of the trip.
Tuesday 14 February 2017
Volunteering on the Broad
As with all wildlife conservation groups like Natural England the practical work relies on volunteers. The Nature Trail on Hoveton Great Broad has been looked after by wardens and groups of volunteers for years. One of these wardens was keen to enlist my help for some winter management, and I was keen to get back out on the Broad to gain as much experience as I could.
The Broad is cold. On a shady, wet woodland Nature Trail in Norfolk during January when the ground frozen and the sky has recently been trying to snow, this may sound like a redundant statement. None the less the team made a point of warning me and when I was waiting on the frozen and frosty ground for the other volunteers to break their way through the ice covered water of the opposite shore, I was glad that they did.
However fate did favour me as, despite the chill in the air, it was a bright day. I was even more lucky that this warm sunlight had landed a direct hit on the warden's hut that I was tasked with painting. However as much as I may have enjoyed the day out, not everyone appreciated what I was doing.
While the Nature Trail is closed for the winter the windows of the warden's hut are covered, providing shelters where the icy air doesn't reach; shelters for hibernating insects like Queen wasps and lacewings. Still part way through winter it was too early for them to reawaken but unfortunately, as gentle as we tried to be, we ended up disturbing a few. Lack of food, and the risk of frosts still to come, once disturbed hibernating insects often die. For Queen wasps this also means the death of next year's hive. I hope that the insects we woke returned once we replaced the shutters, or found alternative accommodation and will think of our sleep, overwintering species in future winters.
Meanwhile the other volunteers were employing chainsaws further down the trail on diseased ash trees. Ash Dieback has been a very efficiently deadly disease which has taken many victims by killing them from the inside out. Overlooking public footpaths; dead trees can be dangerous but also the fungus responsible can be spread by wind when it produces spores in early autumn so removing infected trunks helps contain the disease. For more on Ash Dieback please click the link.
There is some good news however as some of the uninfected twigs and branches from the trees can be piled, away from the path, to provide nesting sites for small birds. Then eventually, as natural processes take over, they will break down and be recycled into the ecosystem.
Walking around the Nature Trail once more, as chilly as it is in the shade, I'm happy to be in amongst it again. It may be wet and muddy and grey but for me the wet woodland has a unique beauty I can't explain. As we turn the corner we come across a small flock of Gadwall enjoying Hoveton Great Broad in front of the bird hide. A quieter, more timid species of duck, the females are often mistaken for Mallards. They're not a species I had come across before but watching them dabbling - flipping vertical to dunk their heads under the water to feed - I find their more reserved personality endearing. For more on Gadwall please click the link.
After that my day volunteering on the Hoveton Great Broad Nature Trail came to an end and, though not eager to leave the Broad, I was very happy to get into a warm car to head home - hoping all my visits could be as dry as my first two.
The Broad is cold. On a shady, wet woodland Nature Trail in Norfolk during January when the ground frozen and the sky has recently been trying to snow, this may sound like a redundant statement. None the less the team made a point of warning me and when I was waiting on the frozen and frosty ground for the other volunteers to break their way through the ice covered water of the opposite shore, I was glad that they did.
However fate did favour me as, despite the chill in the air, it was a bright day. I was even more lucky that this warm sunlight had landed a direct hit on the warden's hut that I was tasked with painting. However as much as I may have enjoyed the day out, not everyone appreciated what I was doing.
While the Nature Trail is closed for the winter the windows of the warden's hut are covered, providing shelters where the icy air doesn't reach; shelters for hibernating insects like Queen wasps and lacewings. Still part way through winter it was too early for them to reawaken but unfortunately, as gentle as we tried to be, we ended up disturbing a few. Lack of food, and the risk of frosts still to come, once disturbed hibernating insects often die. For Queen wasps this also means the death of next year's hive. I hope that the insects we woke returned once we replaced the shutters, or found alternative accommodation and will think of our sleep, overwintering species in future winters.
Meanwhile the other volunteers were employing chainsaws further down the trail on diseased ash trees. Ash Dieback has been a very efficiently deadly disease which has taken many victims by killing them from the inside out. Overlooking public footpaths; dead trees can be dangerous but also the fungus responsible can be spread by wind when it produces spores in early autumn so removing infected trunks helps contain the disease. For more on Ash Dieback please click the link.
There is some good news however as some of the uninfected twigs and branches from the trees can be piled, away from the path, to provide nesting sites for small birds. Then eventually, as natural processes take over, they will break down and be recycled into the ecosystem.
Walking around the Nature Trail once more, as chilly as it is in the shade, I'm happy to be in amongst it again. It may be wet and muddy and grey but for me the wet woodland has a unique beauty I can't explain. As we turn the corner we come across a small flock of Gadwall enjoying Hoveton Great Broad in front of the bird hide. A quieter, more timid species of duck, the females are often mistaken for Mallards. They're not a species I had come across before but watching them dabbling - flipping vertical to dunk their heads under the water to feed - I find their more reserved personality endearing. For more on Gadwall please click the link.
After that my day volunteering on the Hoveton Great Broad Nature Trail came to an end and, though not eager to leave the Broad, I was very happy to get into a warm car to head home - hoping all my visits could be as dry as my first two.
Monday 13 February 2017
Access and Engagement
Engaging with the public is something scientists are often criticised for not doing, yet many of our Nature Reserves need tourism to help manage them and education is an important part of conservation. For a project partly funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund getting the local people who have helped pay for the project involved, is especially important.
From a biologists point of view handling arguments against a project may not seem intuitive; we're working to improve the environment and benefit wildlife how could anyone object? But inevitably, as with anything, there will be people who think differently. This was one of my first lessons.
As an introvert more interested in animals than people I will freely admit I never expected, nor wanted, my year in industry to involve direct communication with the public and the idea of talking to local schools about the Broad and our project fills me with dread. And yet when I was finally settled in and started working; this was exactly what I started working on.
More accurately I start working on a database of local groups and schools who might be interested in hearing about our Broad, with the ultimate aim of getting the Hoveton Great Broad Nature Trail on people's watch lists. We want people to know about the Broad; visiting and enjoying it.
Which is a challenge when the only access to the Nature Trail is via boat, and when there the trail itself is a narrow, uneven path of planks sunk into the marshy undergrowth on which people have to walk in single file. In one way this is one of its charms; this type of trail gets you into the wet woodland habitat to really experience it without the level of detachment that a boardwalk has, and the isolation from land makes it the unique habitat that it is.
But access is an issue. Which is why outreach is so important. There are a range of ideas floating around, on the agenda of our Access and Engagement Officer as well as in my mind and rapidly filling notebook. As the discussion in that meeting room with the Severn River Trust continued, and after the many other conversations I've had since, I'm made aware how limiting my Biological mind can be. While it was my Biological Sciences degree that brought me to Hoveton Broad, a fact probably true of several others at Natural England, the Broad has more to offer than simply looking at it through a scientific lens.
So when creating my database of people to engage with I cast my net wider than the usual birders and ramblers to historians and creative artists. Then when looking into the national curriculum I realise we can link to more subjects than just Biology and Geography. Creation of these outreach resources are still on the drawing board and any talks I might be asked to give are still a anxiety subduing way off into the future, but while I may still not consider making lesson plans or learning aids my 'thing', I find myself thinking about this project differently, and looking at Access and Engagement with more curiosity than dread.
From a biologists point of view handling arguments against a project may not seem intuitive; we're working to improve the environment and benefit wildlife how could anyone object? But inevitably, as with anything, there will be people who think differently. This was one of my first lessons.
As an introvert more interested in animals than people I will freely admit I never expected, nor wanted, my year in industry to involve direct communication with the public and the idea of talking to local schools about the Broad and our project fills me with dread. And yet when I was finally settled in and started working; this was exactly what I started working on.
More accurately I start working on a database of local groups and schools who might be interested in hearing about our Broad, with the ultimate aim of getting the Hoveton Great Broad Nature Trail on people's watch lists. We want people to know about the Broad; visiting and enjoying it.
Which is a challenge when the only access to the Nature Trail is via boat, and when there the trail itself is a narrow, uneven path of planks sunk into the marshy undergrowth on which people have to walk in single file. In one way this is one of its charms; this type of trail gets you into the wet woodland habitat to really experience it without the level of detachment that a boardwalk has, and the isolation from land makes it the unique habitat that it is.
But access is an issue. Which is why outreach is so important. There are a range of ideas floating around, on the agenda of our Access and Engagement Officer as well as in my mind and rapidly filling notebook. As the discussion in that meeting room with the Severn River Trust continued, and after the many other conversations I've had since, I'm made aware how limiting my Biological mind can be. While it was my Biological Sciences degree that brought me to Hoveton Broad, a fact probably true of several others at Natural England, the Broad has more to offer than simply looking at it through a scientific lens.
So when creating my database of people to engage with I cast my net wider than the usual birders and ramblers to historians and creative artists. Then when looking into the national curriculum I realise we can link to more subjects than just Biology and Geography. Creation of these outreach resources are still on the drawing board and any talks I might be asked to give are still a anxiety subduing way off into the future, but while I may still not consider making lesson plans or learning aids my 'thing', I find myself thinking about this project differently, and looking at Access and Engagement with more curiosity than dread.
The next day
Despite the cold weather, going out on the Broad for the first time was a very special experience. I suddenly became very aware of how beautifully unique river habitats are, and how much I loved being on them. I do have some previous experience with water habitats, mainly in kayaks, from holidays across the Atlantic. However, coasting across the wintery Broad I realised that that same excitement sparked in the exotic mangrove swamps and fjords of Florida and Canada, could be felt here in my home country.
Being back in the office the day after may have seemed less exciting after that but there was still a lot in store for me to learn, not only about our own Broad but also the project that was visiting us - for more information on the Severn River Trust please click the link.
The Bure Marshes is a very special place for wildlife; designated a National Nature Reserve (NNR), a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSI), a Special Area of Conservation (SAC), a Special Protection Area (SPA), and a Ramsar site - a special designation for wetland protection. With all these EU designations Hoveton Great Broad has been highlighted as an important habitat for wildlife; if it wasn't so polluted.
As mentioned previously phase 1 of our project involves dredging. Sediment, once dredged from the water body, has to go somewhere and often this means bringing in a troop of lorries to cart it away for dumping elsewhere. Not only would this not be very pleasant for the quiet countryside community but the exhausts from all those lorries, and the use of landfill sites, is hardly very beneficial for the environment - as an organisation working to help the ecosystem of the Norfolk Broads, we had to find another solution. Habitat creation using dredged sediment is not a new idea, though it may not be as widely used as it should be.
Neighbouring Salhouse Broad has also been dredged and they used a similar method to the one we're employing to dispose of the sediment. Salhouse has the added problem of pollutants from boat exhausts contaminating the sediment making it unsuitable for spreading on farmland. Instead they pumped it back around the shoreline and within a year it had grown over with species-rich fen habitat. For another example please check out Wallasea Island.
While Hoveton Great Broad isn't open to navigation the adjoining Hudson Bay, also part of our project, is and so our sediment can't be used for crop growth either. But fen habitat is very valuable, not only as a home for invertebrates and small birds, but also sedges and rushes aid water quality, oxygen levels and sediment binding. A stark difference between Hoveton Great Broad and other Broads is a distinct lack of reed beds due to destruction by coypu, or nutria, (the swamp beaver) when they inhabited the area before eradication in 1989.
Being a part of a team meeting was a new experience in itself and though I didn't contribute much myself I learnt a lot from listening to the discussion. Not only did hearing our team leader explain the project teach me more than reading about it ever could but I heard about his experience of organising the work; what research they needed to prepare for it, the struggles of getting the work started and most importantly, the hidden pitfalls of applying for funding.
As a biologist fascinated by animals, plants and the natural world office work was something I'd never done, though I appreciate it is an inevitable part of any job. Outside is where my interest lies so outside is where I thought I'd end up, concerning myself with wildlife and its habitat. However listening to our Access and Engagement Officer speak that day started me thinking about the project in a way I'd never done before, and she would later build on that to get me involved with a part of the project I'd never expected to end up in.
Being back in the office the day after may have seemed less exciting after that but there was still a lot in store for me to learn, not only about our own Broad but also the project that was visiting us - for more information on the Severn River Trust please click the link.
The Bure Marshes is a very special place for wildlife; designated a National Nature Reserve (NNR), a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSI), a Special Area of Conservation (SAC), a Special Protection Area (SPA), and a Ramsar site - a special designation for wetland protection. With all these EU designations Hoveton Great Broad has been highlighted as an important habitat for wildlife; if it wasn't so polluted.
As mentioned previously phase 1 of our project involves dredging. Sediment, once dredged from the water body, has to go somewhere and often this means bringing in a troop of lorries to cart it away for dumping elsewhere. Not only would this not be very pleasant for the quiet countryside community but the exhausts from all those lorries, and the use of landfill sites, is hardly very beneficial for the environment - as an organisation working to help the ecosystem of the Norfolk Broads, we had to find another solution. Habitat creation using dredged sediment is not a new idea, though it may not be as widely used as it should be.
Neighbouring Salhouse Broad has also been dredged and they used a similar method to the one we're employing to dispose of the sediment. Salhouse has the added problem of pollutants from boat exhausts contaminating the sediment making it unsuitable for spreading on farmland. Instead they pumped it back around the shoreline and within a year it had grown over with species-rich fen habitat. For another example please check out Wallasea Island.
While Hoveton Great Broad isn't open to navigation the adjoining Hudson Bay, also part of our project, is and so our sediment can't be used for crop growth either. But fen habitat is very valuable, not only as a home for invertebrates and small birds, but also sedges and rushes aid water quality, oxygen levels and sediment binding. A stark difference between Hoveton Great Broad and other Broads is a distinct lack of reed beds due to destruction by coypu, or nutria, (the swamp beaver) when they inhabited the area before eradication in 1989.
Being a part of a team meeting was a new experience in itself and though I didn't contribute much myself I learnt a lot from listening to the discussion. Not only did hearing our team leader explain the project teach me more than reading about it ever could but I heard about his experience of organising the work; what research they needed to prepare for it, the struggles of getting the work started and most importantly, the hidden pitfalls of applying for funding.
As a biologist fascinated by animals, plants and the natural world office work was something I'd never done, though I appreciate it is an inevitable part of any job. Outside is where my interest lies so outside is where I thought I'd end up, concerning myself with wildlife and its habitat. However listening to our Access and Engagement Officer speak that day started me thinking about the project in a way I'd never done before, and she would later build on that to get me involved with a part of the project I'd never expected to end up in.
Saturday 11 February 2017
The Project - my first week
Put bluntly, the first week was slow. Much of it was getting set up and settled in, and waiting for the Natural England equipment to come through so that I could work.
But a visit from representatives of the Severn Rivers Trust helped me to get acquainted with the project.
Our Hoveton Great Broad Lake Restoration Project is partly funded by LIFE (the EU’s funding instrument for the environment and climate action, click link for more information) and they are very keen on their different projects visiting each other and sharing experiences. The Severn Rivers Trust is planning a LIFE funded restoration project on the River Severn, as you may have guessed, and by pure good fortune their visit coincided with my first week so I was able to tag along and learn about the project alongside them.
But a visit from representatives of the Severn Rivers Trust helped me to get acquainted with the project.
Our Hoveton Great Broad Lake Restoration Project is partly funded by LIFE (the EU’s funding instrument for the environment and climate action, click link for more information) and they are very keen on their different projects visiting each other and sharing experiences. The Severn Rivers Trust is planning a LIFE funded restoration project on the River Severn, as you may have guessed, and by pure good fortune their visit coincided with my first week so I was able to tag along and learn about the project alongside them.
The Broads cover an area of marshes and wet woodlands in Norfolk fed by the Yare, Bure and Waveney rivers. Hoveton Great Broad, and it's close neighbour Salhouse Broad, sit in the Bure River floodplain, which unusually for a river is in the middle of its journey to the sea and not at the bottom.
When intensive farming practices took off in the surrounding farmland, nutrients from the fertilisers on the fields fed into the Bure River, which in turn fed into Hoveton Great Broad. This influx of nutrients ending up in the Broad may sound beneficial, however it resulted in the death of all aquatic plants and the silting up of the broad by the process of Eutrophication.
This process starts with algal blooms. Simple organisms, algae are very fast growing and easily take advantage of the excess nutrients to grow into large colonies that float on the surface of the water, shading everything underneath. Without light the submerged plants can't photosynthesize and die out, their organic matter contributes significantly to the soil on the waterbed and make the Broad very shallow - in some places Hoveton Great Broad is only 30cm deep! And so we're left with a Broad void of life, while fish such as perch and bream, and birds like coot do still visit the broad there is very little of value for them there.
The Hoveton Great Broad Lake Restoration Project aims to initially remove the sediment, deepening the Broad to about 1.1m on average and reuse this sediment in Geotubing to reconstruct land habitat around the edge of the lake, based off of old maps of the area. But while the deeper lake will be a better habitat aquatic plants won't be able to grow as long as the algae stays dominant.
The second phase of the project is biomanipulation; removal of the fish from the broad. This may sound a little unfair to the fish to be barred from a habitat but this will give the water fleas, or Daphnia, a chance to multiply without their natural predators. The Common Water Flea feeds on the algae and naturally they would keep the algae in check by their grazing while fish species prevent overgrazing by preying on the Daphnia. But at Hoveton Great Broad the unnatural nutrient levels have caused an imbalance which Natural England hopes to fix by a temporary, controlled imbalance in the other direction.
After 30 years of sewage treatment and altered farming practices the Bure River has been cleaned so that now is a perfect time to restore the Broad and the Hoveton Great Broad Restoration Project has begun sediment removal this season, for more information please click the link.
An Introduction
January 2017 was the start of my Industrial Placement year. In between my second and final years of studying Biology I was to spend a year working for Natural England gaining fieldwork experience and basically finding out what the world of work was really like for biologists.
Getting my placement was difficult; my University had never had students do an ecology based placement before. So I spent many months sending emails to prospective employers, and receiving replies from the ones that got back to me that explained that they didn't take on year in industry students and had no framework for it. Even Natural England, when they came to my rescue at the last minute, hadn't done this before and didn't know what to expect anymore than I did.
Though it may have taken a long time to organise I am now, as I write this, a month into my 30 week placement and have already learnt a lot. Despite the difficulty in getting a placement, a year in industry is a really useful experience - aside from not doing lab work I have very little idea of where I want to go with my Biology degree. My time at Natural England will not only give me a taste of some of my options for working in Ecology but also give me more of that experience that employers so desperately want from students straight out of University.
And even more than that, put simply, I'm enjoying it.
So for those of you out there who are considering a placement - either to do as part of your degree or to offer with your company - and for those of you who are just interested in Biology, academically or not, here is the story of my time at Natural England as well as interesting posts about our natural England.
Getting my placement was difficult; my University had never had students do an ecology based placement before. So I spent many months sending emails to prospective employers, and receiving replies from the ones that got back to me that explained that they didn't take on year in industry students and had no framework for it. Even Natural England, when they came to my rescue at the last minute, hadn't done this before and didn't know what to expect anymore than I did.
Though it may have taken a long time to organise I am now, as I write this, a month into my 30 week placement and have already learnt a lot. Despite the difficulty in getting a placement, a year in industry is a really useful experience - aside from not doing lab work I have very little idea of where I want to go with my Biology degree. My time at Natural England will not only give me a taste of some of my options for working in Ecology but also give me more of that experience that employers so desperately want from students straight out of University.
And even more than that, put simply, I'm enjoying it.
So for those of you out there who are considering a placement - either to do as part of your degree or to offer with your company - and for those of you who are just interested in Biology, academically or not, here is the story of my time at Natural England as well as interesting posts about our natural England.
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