There is something of a quintessential English summer that is conjured up by Kenneth Grahame’s delightfully quaint Wind In The Willows, and the adventures of Mole, Badger, Toad and, of course, Ratty.
Making a comeback: water voles have been released on the Hogsmill near Kingston and at Ewell
Ratty has been described, by the Daily Torygraph, no less, as, “Dependable and thoroughly decent, with a fondness for impromptu picnics and impeccable taste in clothes, this twinkly-eyed country gentleman would take you out for a glorious day on the river before asking you, as the sun began to set and he draped his jacket over your shoulders, whether you’d care to have dinner with him next week.”
Except, of course, Ratty isn’t really a rat.
He’s a water vole, the country’s largest vole. Perhaps a little less attractive in the flesh than as portrayed by Grahame, the presence of water voles has become one of the critical measures of the health, or lack of it, of local ecosystems, especially around river banks and the sides of lakes or ponds across the country.
And while this website’s April Fool of a couple of years ago – Beavers on the Wandle! (“Operation Flair Pool”, geddit?) – was a complete flight of fancy, the reintroduction of water voles on another nearby river is a reality.
The Hogsmill, like the Wandle, is a rare chalk stream, one that rises in Ewell and flows the relatively short distance via Epsom to the Thames at Kingston. And it is now, once again, the home to water voles.
Water voles are Britain’s fastest declining mammal, having suffered a 97% decrease in populations.
‘One of the most exciting rewilding projects in the region’: Chamber Meads, near Ewell, is the result of years of pinatsaking work by the SERT and other groups
Once ubiquitous and found in their millions, water voles are now considered to be on the brink of extinction, owing to loss of habitat, pernicious pollution and the introduction of invasive American mink. Water voles were once prolific on the Hogsmill, but became locally extinct in 2017.
The reintrodcution of the water vole on the Upper Hogsmill at Ewell is the result of a pioneering wetland restoration project led by the South East Rivers Trust, with a lot of help from Citizen Zoo, the Wildwood Trust, Natural England and the local council.
Around 50 water voles have been released on to the Hogsmill and Chamber Meads wetlands. “The return of this endangered species marks a major milestone for Surrey’s biodiversity and one of the most exciting rewilding projects in the region,” according to local sources.
The wetlands at Chamber Meads, not too far from the busy A240 Ewell bypass, is a pioneering rewilding project which has even included installing a foot bridge for humans and a “mammal tunnel” under 10 busy lanes of road traffic of the A3 enabling hedgehogs, badgers and other small mammals.to move safely between habitats, connecting two nature reserves.
The Chamber Meads wetlands has been created by diverting a tributary stream of the Hogsmill through a sediment trap and two wetlands. “As they develop, the wetlands will add variety of habitat and amenity benefit to the Hogsmill Local Nature Reserve, as well as improve water quality for a 200-metre section of rare chalk stream,” according to the South East Rivers Trust.
“Water voles were once a familiar sight on the Hogsmill, but due to habitat loss and invasive predators, they died out,” said Dr Bella Davies, the chief executive of the South East Rivers Trust.
“After years of dedicated river restoration work, and the creation of the flagship wetland at Chamber Mead, as well as extensive monitoring by a band of dedicated local volunteers, we’re thrilled to have brought them back to the upper Hogsmill in Surrey.”
The latest release of water voles adds to around 100 of the furry creatures previously released, to add to the genetic pool and help establish colonies at Esher and extending along the river.
Born to be wild: the latest release of 50 water voles adds to more than 100 previously let loose along the Hogsmill
The Wildwood Trust, based in Kent and Devon, has a captive breeding programme which is helping the creature cling on from extinction. “The UK’s biodiversity is facing a critical decline – putting our ecosystems, food security and climate resilience at risk,” said the Wildwood Trust’s conservation officer Tyrone Capel.
“Ambitious rewilding projects like this are central to our mission: returning nature to the places it once thrived. We’re proud to support this initiative by breeding water voles for release along the Hogsmill and ultimately reversing the extinction in Surrey.”
Citizen Zoo delivered a previous, successful water vole release along the Hogsmill near Kingston. “This is not just a win for water voles — it’s a flagship moment for urban river restoration across the country,” said Citizen Zoo’s Elliot Newton.
Newton’s organisation is now calling for local volunteers to come forward to help the project maintain momentum and “give this species a real chance to thrive again”.
Now, about those beavers on the Wandle…
- To find out more about Citizen Zoo’s work, and membership of the organisation, click here
- The South East Rivers Trust operates across the region, including with the Rver Wandle. To find out more about their work, click here
Read more: Groups join MP’s call for big fines for River Wandle polluters
Read more: Now Streatham MP Reed faces court action over water torture
Read more: Wandle Forum in legal challenge to council over nature reserve
Read more: Reed slammed for ‘laughable’ claims on private water industry
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