Fal Rivers to Reef is taking an innovative source to sea approach to restoring over 18,000 hectares of the Fal catchment for farming, nature, and communities. Farmers and landowners in the Fal catchment have been custodians of its unique landscape for generations. They are passionate about the catchment and its unique characteristics.
Until recent years, farmers have been encouraged to intensify to get the most out of every parcel of land. Tough trading markets and external pressures have meant that farmers had to farm hard to make ends meet. We now know that some modern farming practises can be damaging to the local environment and are not sustainable in the long term – impacting profitability, nature, and communities.
The River Fal is subject to significant pressures resulting from predominantly land-based activities and historic engineering works to enable mining activity. The river suffers from high flow rates off the land, resulting in it being over-deep and disconnected from its floodplain along a significant length. The higher flow rates have caused a reduction of coarse materials such as gravel, which are essential for fish spawning. Additionally, elevated levels of fine particulates are present from the China clay industry and soil erosion from agriculture.
The key outcomes of the project:
· Clean water from source to sea.
· Restored nature on land and below water.
· Resilient farm businesses producing high-quality food.
· Empowered communities by raising awareness whilst reconnecting with place and nature.
· Creation of a blueprint for large scale nature recovery projects that harness blended finance.
The project aims to reach these goals by carrying out extensive habitat restoration and creation – establishing new ponds, wetlands, woodlands, hedgerows, and peatlands, while also safeguarding vital coastal and marine environments, including saltmarsh ecosystems, seagrass meadows, and maerl beds. Alongside this, regenerative farming and agroforestry will transform thousands of hectares of land, supported by technical farm plans, water storage improvements, and collaborative farm clusters.
Alongside other stakeholders, FWAG South West have been collaborating with farmers and landowners within the catchment helping with a range of on farm improvements both to benefit farming practices and the wider environment. Cornwall Team advisers have been producing bespoke resilience and technical plans that help farmers access funding and provide the technical knowledge on how to implement these improvements on farm.
Project advisers:
Richard Hollis, Farm Environment Adviser – email: Richard.hollis@fwagsw.org.uk
Christo Bradstock, Assistant Farm Environment Adviser – email: christo.bradstock@fwagw.org.uk
Project website: https://letstalk.cornwall.gov.uk/fal-rivers-to-reef