What happens when you set a river free? | BBC News

[@thenayancat8802]

Who'd have thought draining wetlands, stripping uplands, straightening rivers and building on floodplains would have consequences?

[@fisherman5517]

the idiots that commit these crimes just do not care it means nothing to them ,as all they care about is money and corrupt power .

[@sergarlantyrell7847]

More arable land. Before we got most of our food from abroad, that was more important to us.

[@DarkFenix2k5]

@@fisherman5517 Sorry to burst your little bubble of righteous anger, but controlling rivers has long been done for the sake of agriculture. Y'know, back in the days when food didn't grow on supermarkets and environmental preservation wasn't a priority. Not that huge damage to ecosystems isn't still being done abroad, particularly in developing nations, but again they have bigger problems than environmental preservation. They have vast populations that need electricity, industry, food, etc. The survival of an ecosystem decades from now is a fairly trivial concern when you've got a million people whose needs you need to meet.

[@user-jn7pl3ofu]

Wetlands are still being drained in national parks. These sites are also of significant scientific importance. Nothing is protected anymore 😢

[@klackon1]

It's almost as if you are unaware that humans have been doing this since the bronze age.

[@michaelwhite9199]

The lady’s enthusiasm is infectious. I’m glad her project has gone well.

[@o9brian]

The teeth are still a thing there though?

[@airhabairhab]

It’s over the top, disingenious and patronising.

[@roberttrott5259]

@@o9brian Yeah, right. Actually, her teeth are perfectly healthy, it's the lack of a perfect Hollywood smile that you are criticizing. What is interesting is that studies show that the British now have the healthiest teeth in the world. Of course, that criterion is based on actual soundness of dental health not the shallow cosmetic considerations that Americans are so obsessed with.

[@kurtoogle4576]

Jo Neville seems like a lot of fun! I'd love to tour the channel with her!

[@BPBomber]

@@roberttrott5259lack of a Hollywood smile?! she looks like she’s can chew down a tree!

[@TravellingTechie]

And I bet the water quality downstream has improved too.

[@danielwhyatt3278]

Definitely, as it isn’t just dumping the silt downstream.

[@sarogers6294]

Right, but upstream are having lots more flooding I'm sure

[@TravellingTechie]

@@sarogers6294 that’s not how hydrology works, this would most likely reduce flooding upstream as well as downstream, it isn’t a barrier to the flow. The amount able to inflow into the wetlands is not choked or reduced for the water and the river upstream. This catches the extra water, slows and absorbs it within the wetlands and reduces peak outflow.

[@ruolbu]

@sarogers6294 Probably not, this isn't a dam, the water table does not rise, so flooding is not more likely or intense upstream. Instead this is a floodplain. Any high water that reaches this space gets buffered over a large area, so the water level does not get artificially increased.

[@Tao_Tology]

​@@sarogers6294 "I'm sure" Possibly you really do feel 'sure', but you are uninformed.

[@paulsengupta971]

Meanwhile, some councils have allowed building on flood plains while putting in flood defences to stop those houses flooding - meaning the towns downstream all get flooded.

[@flyingpanhandle]

Councils have had no choice. Gov targets over last 10 years "you need to build X houses, no we don't care you don't have any land". Its why Portsmouth Council, bearing in mind Portsmouth is actually on Portsea Island, have had to look at reclaiming land from the bloody sea!

[@Payteer]

@@flyingpanhandle Then there is a need for higher density housing in the areas the can be built on. Not everyone can have a big house, garden and driveway then in those councils with no buildable land.

[@v-zr9cz]

@@flyingpanhandlerealistically they ought to build on stilts or do proper groundwork that channels the water to appropriate places rather than letting it flood other homes

[@madcatlover7554]

Sounds like half the towns in Australia

[@keithheaven176]

If flooding is going to be an increasing feature of life in the future, advice from the Dutch will likely be necessary. They are evidently the ones with the most experience.

[@CMBell1985]

That water is soo clear. Bravo! First thing I thought was - this will reduce flooding downstream, and they got the data to prove it.

[@alicaramba7680]

Well, it is proven long ago only there are people who just loves to prove it again and again cause their income and job depends on it.

[@MrDesmondPot]

@@alicaramba7680 I think it’s more that there are obstinate and selfish folk who need it to be proven again and again because they want to convince simpletons to allow them to exploit the land for the obstinate person’s own profit.

[@robinscott7816]

I'm sure the local water company will soon pollute it with swage

[@Badficwriter]

@@alicaramba7680 Its because people refuse to believe wetlands are critical so they want them emptied and dried so they can farm or build on them. So the environmental damage to wetlands leads to environmental flooding which damages the buildings so someone has to point out wetlands are a protective barrier.

[@pegjames188]

Looks like watercress would thrive there.

[@salzar4431]

Convincing the local planning authority that it was a good idea, must have been fun.

[@alicaramba7680]

Talks with various local and provincial authorities usually are very short once appropriate sum of money is involved.

[@keithsyers5833]

Bribes gets results 😂

[@Hamishmcbeth]

I doubt they bribed anyone. Nation trust is effectively a charity

[@ManuFortis]

Computer models and simulations are getting rather good at representing a lot of real world things now a days. If they made use of something like this to represent the idea and show that it could work if their concept pans out as intended; they very likely saw little resistance. Not just because of that, but because there is proof of returning places to wetlands being beneficial overall for the environment over here in Canada. It's an ecosystem that's really important for the wildlife to flourish, as it provides a lot of the necessary steps in each's own food chain to put it simply. And we get the nicety of having more ground water keeping the area generally drought free. Less need for irrigation, etc. A lot of these are nice selling points to politicians looking to get the favor of the public.

[@salzar4431]

@@ManuFortis Maybe there weren’t any fish to worry about; would have assumed river based developments such as hydro electric projects would be met with resistance for fishy reasons. Fortunately my experience with my LPA is more limited than all this.

[@daz3434]

First project should be to stop pumping shit in our rivers the River Severn has become disgusting.

[@johnpullen3729]

We need to do all, creating wetland meddows and yes water companies have alot to answer for, But will cost billions to sort the infrastructure. Privatization has screwed us and the enviroment/planet...

[@daz3434]

@@johnpullen3729 And these company's make Billions time to start making them sort their shit out. A few match anglers on the Severn went down with sickness and diarrhea after a match about a month ago.

[@johnpullen3729]

@@daz3434 Vive la révolution... 😉

[@ddoherty5956]

Yeah, you need to reverse immigration to do that mate we have more A 🕳️ than we have sewer capacity.

[@ekim4943]

Basically it’s the fault of the Tory’s 😂

[@YorkGod1]

Problem is these days new "houses" being built on flood plains

[@EzioAuditoreDaFirenze99]

Well due to this work it's no longer a flood plain 😊

[@Pugggle]

"Houses" ?? Are they not real houses then? Lol

[@flamencoprof]

@@Pugggle Not if they are built on a flood plain. Might as well be a "cardboard box int' middle of road".

[@pc750-V4]

​@@Pugggle I think they are trying to be clever....

[@eveningstar7812]

Not really much space

[@Jo28147]

How lovely to see the beloved water vole in such clear water. Hopefully this great work will continue.

[@ddoherty5956]

Yeah they're also releasing pine martins...

[@Magnolia-Railway-SHORTS]

@@ddoherty5956 You need to have lots of vole for the pine martins to eat.

[@ddoherty5956]

@@Magnolia-Railway-SHORTS yeah that was my point, don't expect to see them they are going to get eaten

[@treeaboo]

@@ddoherty5956 Most will not get eaten though, that's the way these things work. You still won't see them though as they're small, camouflaged, and reclusive.

[@Ant86744]

I find it strange that I was taught that the Romans encouraged flooding of farmland because it brought nutrients back into the soil and kept flooding to a minimum in other areas. 20 plus years since I was taught this and people are only just starting to go back to allowing and encouraging the water to flood the local ground/ fields

[@rjjcms1]

We all went a little crazy in the 20th Century.

[@RealConstructor]

@@rjjcms1And more polluting.

[@dinnertimemishap]

We thought our technology would out preform nature, and it did... until we realized that everything is connected and doing what were doing only provides short term gains.

[@Yarxing]

That's because flooding brings new fresh sediment to your farmlands, but it also has the potential to destroy your crops. When we invented synthetic fertilizers we didn't need to rely on the river to bring nutrients to our crops, we could give them ourselves. That's when we started straightening out the rivers, making sure the water would leave as fast as possible because we didn't need it as much any more. But doing so increased flood hazards downstream now that we get more extreme weather. By bringing back the original wetlands, we have less land to grow crops on, but we do have more room for the water to flow where we roughly want it and to stay there, instead of having it in our towns all at once.

[@barahng]

To be fair the Romans also employed plenty of canals and other artificial watercourses themselves. If they had synthetic fertilizers (and thus not needing the fields to flood for nutrients) and industrial levels of production needing to get from inland cities to the coast, like Britain did when it was building all these canals, they probably would have taken a similar course of action. That being said the UK is producing a lot less than it used to, and what is being shipped largely isn't being shipped in small boats down canals anymore.

[@alexugur]

This reminds me of the Gearagh near Macroom in SW Ireland. Originally an oak and ash woodland permeated by many tiny rivers and swamps, it resembled an extremely rare type of inland river delta. Sadly, local residents were displaced, a majority of the trees were felled, and the area was flooded in 1954 to facilitate the building of two hydro-electric dams in Carrigadrohid and Inniscarra. The Gearagh has a wikipedia page for anyone interested.

[@PaulHolder]

I like that they had the honesty to say that they didn't know what would happen but got permission anyway. Also that they are aware working in one place doesn't mean it will work everywhere. Well done.

[@DAILARNER]

Yes let's not do any experimentation, let's just keep doing things the same way for ever

[@Brausepaul1977]

People who straightened the river usually knew very well what would happen and did it anyway.

[@himssendol6512]

Periodic flooding re-nourishes the land. This is marvellous.

[@jjrider6758]

This is not Egypt, where annual regenerative flooding is a required natural occurrence.. and of course this flooding is not intended to be periodic, marshes are PERMANENT areas of wetland.. This scheme is fine if restricted to just a few areas and a few relatively small rivers, but the UK is a small country with a high population density and a very finite amount of usable farmland that already produces ONLY 55% of our food needs, the remainder being imported using costly and highly polluting shipping and air freight. Given our rapidly increasing population, the widespread implementation of this and other 're-wilding' schemes can only drive that 55% ever lower and the transport pollution ever higher..

[@alanmcdonald4423]

@@jjrider6758 Such a sensible and factually corect post cannot possibly be accepted by those who do not understand how right you are.

[@Fractus]

@@jjrider6758 Could we not grow certain crops on the wetland? Wild rice?

[@jjrider6758]

@@Fractus I suppose that would be possible, but it's hardly 'rewilding' is it ? - I've never seen Wild Rice growing 'in the wild' (so to speak) in the UK, or heard of it ever being a native species so as far as I'm aware it's safe to say that rice has never grown in the UK. Also, Wild Rice has a much lower yield than modern Rice species (there's obviously a reason why higher yielding types were developed, and it wasn't just to make it white as some would have you believe..) so to grow Wild Rice in an amount to make it worthwhile bothering would necessarily cover large tracts of these 'new' wetlands, which again wouldn't be doing much for the 'rewilding' and 'bio-diversity' agendas/narratives..

[@AnjiDuff]

Need to stop water poisoning and secure wildlife infrastructure before pushing these things out further. I live in Somerset and they have built thousands of houses on flood plains and pulled out all the hedges and filled in all the ditches. Please plant green corridors and buffers to support the extreme flooding coming in the future.

[@fisherman5517]

idiots have no idea what crimes they are commiting against our land and wild life we share this land with.

[@monnoo8221]

you did not understand anything about the geometry of a flood, right?

[@jjrider6758]

@@monnoo8221 Marshland is not a temporary regenerative flood - it is a permanent wetland area.. If this practice (and other 're-wilding' schemes) become widespread it will reduce our ability to produce food even lower than it's current 55% of national requirement. The other 45% has to be imported using highly polluting shipping and air freight which will only increase as our food production falls. Also, given global warming and increased suitable habitat there is increased likelihood of the malarial mosquito reintroducing itself (it was eradicated here solely by the draining of swamps/fens/marshland) so if you fancy a dose of malaria with your half-rations in years to come, go right ahead..

[@jamstaa69]

@@jjrider6758need to start backing away from meat promoting fast food then,,, that’s where all the farming land has gone,, it’s used to store and to feed the animals instead of feeding us.

[@Patrick3183]

Not with millions of brown immigrants being allowed in unchecked

[@The-Real-Ando]

If a river is straightened its carrying capacity is reduced, this increases flooding. Simple math folks, width x length, and yet worldwide this idea continues to be used.

[@kamalhashmi9851]

Amazing difference to the villages downstream! Less flooding...

[@createone100]

We need to do this here on the Canadian prairies. And stop the leeching of massive amounts of agricultural chemical run-off into our wetlands and rivers.

[@Roy-cm1bh]

My great grandfather dug his own streams and ponds off a chalk stream on his land, he let a woodland develop around it which is still there with some very mature oak trees my great grandfather mother planted but the abundance of wildlife is staggering. It’s amazing when nature takes it course as when the water level is high, it’s is all submerged, then drains off and the next wave of foliage is staggering.

[@micklumsden3956]

Well done UK!! Here in the Netherlands similar projects in progress. “Room for the River” involves clearing the flood plain so that it can be allowed to flood as it used to before the building of giant dijks. The geese love it! And rivers such as the Reggae, which had been straightened and canalised, are restored to their original condition with meanders and larger wild areas. Hopefully Brexit will not stop cross border cooperation on this important issue of water management.

[@bobstirling6885]

This should be compulsory viewing for all the idiots that keep saying all our rivers should be dredged to prevent flooding....

[@adrianthoroughgood1191]

Dredging prevents flooding at the site of the dredging and upstream. This causes flooding at the site and reduces it downstream. If you dredge you have to go all the way to the sea, or until you get somewhere you are OK with flooding.

[@maximilian672]

@@adrianthoroughgood1191 you are only partially correct. Yes, it moves some of the burden upstream, yet the severity is drastically lower. Extremely simplified: Water levels rise ~quadratically downstream, as the drain basin grows ~quadratically with river length as you go downstream. Where you might get wetlands 10cm under water upstream, if you move the same amount of water downstream instead of spreading it over wetlands, it results in villages multiple meters under water 100km further downstream. The former is easily manageable, the latter is not, even with modern flood prevention. Another factor is the buffer effect. It's not just that you spread it over a larger area, you also delay it's flow downriver. This further reduces peak water levels far downstream. Data we have gathered across the world backs this up.

[@RKatout]

Two separate issues

[@alelemounsk6544]

Yes it's should be. But that kind of rhetoric isn't very helpful when we need everyone on board with these kinds of issues. You are clearly passionate donn't let it turn to anger.

[@bobstirling6885]

@@alelemounsk6544 no anger here, just get fed up with trying to explain simple river mechanics to people that can only relate to the tiny bit of the system outside their door that causes a bit of inconvenience occasionally, and think that dredging the river will make things better.

[@ontheroadwithyode390]

I'm from British Columbia Canada, this one Canadian province is almost the same size as the UK alone. It really is amazing to see the UK government stepping up and protecting and revitalizing the natural resources/environment that has inevitably been stressed over the long course of time humans have been altering the landscape of your beautiful country. Bravo!

[@captainlengthwidth6692]

FYI the National Trust is not a government body.

[@pauls3204]

Fk all to do with our useless governments in UK It’s to di with local council , the environmentalists sold it to the council as a way to stop flooding council thought £££ savings for us and allowed the project to go ahead hooding it would save them a few million quid . UK government are incompetent

[@adrianperry9961]

Unfortunately the British government is trying to destroy the land and farmers. All the good work is being done by charities and private individuals

[@jamespollock2500]

They decreased the depth and speed, and most importantly, they increased the surface area. This allows the same volume of overall water flow, and increases the amount of surface area the water has to cover to increase the depth for flooding. Similar to having a glass of water you get a column in the glass or depth adding a little water will increase the height quickly. Pour that same volume onto a baking sheet the surface area increases greatly and the depth is decreased

[@loanhua8598]

Yes, let the nature do its vibrant things!

[@publics.public]

on a much smaller scale you only have to lay out a pond and it will multiply diversiy... If you have the possibility to do so try it for yourself and see

[@publics.public]

I promise you the dragonflies are majestic, beautiful, and a sublime marvel.

[@ConstantChaos1]

I have 2 containers off my downspout from my roof and I built a brush piles next to it, now I have all sorts of life out there

[@templeofdelusion]

@@publics.public Yet I don't like them because their presence means their main food source will start feasting on you in the dozens if you stop moving.

[@andyroubik5760]

Beaver mimicry is the key to the American West water cycle

[@pirahna]

Or just, beavers

[@andyroubik5760]

@ yes! You are right. Beavers are best at beaver mimicry ha ha!

[@Peter_S_]

Brilliant. It's almost like Mother Nature knows what to do.

[@bungee7503]

Or has been at it for a few billion years.

[@spirituallysafe]

There is no such thing as "Mother Nature." Please stop perpetuating this silly pagan myth.

[@LudvigIndestrucable]

You seem to have misspelled JCB. This isn't nature or natural, it's filling a river with gravel, flooding some fields and making an artificial wetland.

[@Orosian5]

Whereas people tend to just think they know best.

[@LudvigIndestrucable]

@@Peter_S_ there's nothing natural about filling a riverbed with gravel and hardcore

[@ChopSueyPot]

可憐的中國 I live in China. Everything is miserable here, but no one dares to complain. Our *air, rivers, and soil* are contaminated with poisonous chemicals. My city experiences *record floods year after year.* This is the result of decades of environmental and infrastructural negligence. Seriously if there is next life, I wish to be born in any other country, except China.

[@zeph6439]

South African rivers are in a sorry state overall. Alien plants choking the life out of them, alien invader fish species decimating native aquatic life and sewage spills a regular chronic occurrence. I have learned that talk is pointless as no body will listen. But I use social media as a platform to draw attention to the situation in the vague hope that someone in power will consider the fact that without clean water, no people can live either.

[@fuzzyspackage]

Go west pet shop boys

[@fuzzyspackage]

Song^

[@wangwang2884]

You make me think of the Silent Spring in Three body problem

[@WalkOverHotCoal]

Come to the UK to join the homeless.

[@Shaun.Stephens]

It's a shame that you didn't explain the tree trunks lying around the place. Otherwise fine.

[@Tarananda-mylo]

The trees help the fish and insect life by slowing down the flow of the water.

[@dac545j]

Good point.

[@Shaun.Stephens]

@@Tarananda-mylo Yeah I figured but why didn't they just tell us that?

[@rb9580]

The whole thing is too short on detail! I'd have liked to see some shots of the changes over time - that bog ecology didn't just spring up overnight. Even the aerial shot of the earthworks phase needed explanation. Where had the river gone? Or, as is more likely, was it a seasonal watercourse - damp bog in summer and properly flowing only after rain? If that is the case then there are very few areas of the country where this approach would work. You can't wipe the slate clean and start again if you have a reasonable flow of water when you are carrying out the work - if nothing else, the EA would have a fit about the amount of downstream sediment that the process would create!

[@gabrielfinneran3611]

I wonder if it's also to slow the water down

[@keithflowers5229]

Good idea, let's do the Thames!

[@DolphLongedgreens]

Time to reintroduce wolves and bears into London.

[@tomleader7054]

Where I live in south east London you can clearly see the old river bank of the Thames. It is a mile and a half from the current course of the river in places.

[@raclark2730]

Can do the head waters will still help.

[@robmoore7708]

They never left. They just walk on two legs nowadays. ​@@DolphLongedgreens

[@oxygentheif1]

Best comment ever!

[@souravjaiswal-jr4bj]

Isengard will be destroyed. The first thing that came to my mind after reading the title. 😅

[@senorbolainas2991]

The Ents would be proud

[@nurserynook]

This is wonderful to see happening in the UK! I've seen this elsewhere in Europe and it's so amazing the national trust is doing this here!

[@sianwarwick633]

Quite surprised that they are

[@CenturyHomeProject]

Look at how clear that water looks!

[@adrianthoroughgood1191]

You were careful to say it reduces *downstream* flooding. But what about upstream? Does it increase flooding there, since the water does not flow away as fast?

[@bnations2000]

Generally speaking, no it doesn't. Wetlands act as a sponge slowing down water and allowing it to filter though the soil into the water table below. So, less water makes it downstream to flood in the first place, and less water dams up to cause flooding upstream. Channelizing a natural river does just the opposite, increasing water flow and speed and depleting the local water table.

[@templeofdelusion]

Flooding is a manmade issue, don't build your house on a floodplane, leave it for crops, idiot.

[@monnoo8221]

clown, you.... LOOOL .... it also does nt prevent high waters in the Amazon region ihihihihihi

[@davidwicks9835]

Outstanding project 👏. Bringing back nature and protecting homes from flooding. ❤

[@TheEret]

Well done to everyone involved! This seems to have been amazing for the local environment!

[@dylanbuchman8128]

I love how enthusiastic she is about it she really loves it

[@ecknareal]

Beautiful coverage and beautiful idea really hope we restore some of the beauty back to England's countryside.

[@Mithra53]

This is not an idea. This is only logical to let nature do.its job. Stop taking humans for creatures with good ideas. They are not😊

[@Jorden.Florence]

Betty eats apples under trees in February until late

[@space.youtube]

@@Jorden.Florence indeed

[@ecknareal]

@@Mithra53 Sorry, I'll descriptive in my explanation . We live in a world where the more media attention an idea has, the more it's effect. Making positive comments that get comments or likes helps to indicate to other people, government and companies that the idea is supports, thus, again, increases it's effect. Whether it is true or not that people have good ideas, saying that they do when an idea supports a world you want to live in, is more likely to create the world you want to live in. But of course if you only wish is to live in a world where we are all critical of each other then please, continue.

[@TheUltimateWriterNZ]

Same thing we’re suffering from in Aotearoa NZ - all the rivers etc diverted for farming and we have a serious lack of wetlands. We had a massive nationwide flooding event 18 months ago that we’re still recovering from and we need to replicate this.

[@wangwang2884]

Happy to see its success

[@matthewphilpott1702]

Tears in my eyes over these restorative stories

[@sultan7679]

She's happy

[@loferre7215]

Une écolo allumée

[@edmundblackaddercoc8522]

Those shrooms are no joke

[@vandalpaulius]

this is the best video to watch this week

[@Savajam]

Now put some beavers in there too. Real environmental engineers working 24 / 7!

[@templeofdelusion]

Lol, beavers cause a lot of problems, they're animals most closest to the stupidity of humans.

[@amberbydreamsart5467]

I was wondering if reintroducing beavers in key locations could do this work more cost-efficiently! they're wonderful water-savers

[@Savajam]

@@templeofdelusion depends what you see as problems, very cheap to install, work without pay, dont stop work at 5, dont have weekends off, increased water retention, reduced flooding downstream, increased insect numbers, inreased bird numbers and variety of species, more fish, more voles and so on - our wildlife all evolved alogside beavers and would benefit from their presence - not a problem in my view. Yes, some land would be flooded and some trees lost, some land lost to our scorched earth agriculture that has through EU and government policy reduced britains wildlife to a mere shadow of what it should be, but that is a small price to pay for increased biodiversity and a healthier environment.

[@badenpercarlstrom4149]

Bravo National Trust ❤

[@prairiesunflower]

That's fascinating

[@philthy903]

Thank you. This pleases me greatly.

[@IntriguedLioness]

Brilliant! I've also lived on some of the largest rivers on the planet the ie The Ganges, US Mississippi and I wonder how they would look ... more like the Amazon?? An interesting experimen!

[@bnations2000]

If the Mississippi were again allowed to flow naturally, then the Atchafalaya Basin would extend all the way up to St. Louis, as it did when Columbus stepped on the beach in 1492.

[@ronaldreid2185]

Great work! This is why I'm a member of the National Trust.

[@abelincoln3261]

If open land is available to allow the spreading out of rivers such as this one the flow reduction an shallowing and additional filtering as well as the amount of soil that isn't washed down stream ... the end result is cleaner water more saturation of soils increased water tables increased habits less erosion during high water seasons and during flooding.. more cooling of area and earth surface... more reflective heat off a larger surface increased water and food sources for animals and plants.

[@dazt5831]

i can safely the north east does not need an increase in the water table, its been nearly 3 years since the river tees flowed at its long term historical summer low levels, it has been at flood levels almost a dozen times this summer and autumn already, the water tables here are beyond full

[@linkly9272]

@@dazt5831 It's less of an "increase" of the water table, and more of an equalizing of it. A project such as this occuring upstream would likely combat the flooding you are talking about, as more water would be absorbed into the soil upstream--water which wouldn't then travel downstream to your area.

[@IGM_254]

We need more positive news like this

[@bakerkawesa]

We human beings are incompatible with our planet. We are unique in this way.

[@geoms6263]

maybe you're not meant to be, but i am

[@publics.public]

There was a time when that was not so.... When was that and what changed?

[@megapixies]

As an ecologist I have to agree

[@geoms6263]

@@megapixies are you eugenic taliban ecologist ? Or just ortodox ecologist?

[@kevfit4333]

Self hating nonsense.

[@stevemurrell6167]

Great work.....undoing the past mistakes of human arrogance and greed.

[@garethgilmour9021]

I watched a documentary on KZbin about an Australian farmer doing the very same thing, only difference is it's incredibly hot and dry where he lives and his family over the centuries ruined the natural habitat, rivers were damed up and the natural water irrigation really got damaged and the water table there drastically dropped and of course life just simply disappeared. Insects, bird's, reptiles and mammals all moved away or died off. I highly recommend watching it as it shows how even in the most inhospitable places on our planet...things can be somewhat put right and we humans can reverse the damage that we do. It's planet earth, she always does bounce back and history of our planet tells us that, but,if we can at least undo some of the damage and maybe reintroduce life back to places where we wiped them out, then that's a very good thing. Look at the 1980 Mt St Helens volcano in Washington State, all the trees that you see growing there was humans planting thousands upon thousands of saplings and if it wasn't for humans to intervene and plant those trees that landscape would still be barren and almost completely void of mammals, Insects would probably do fine...but only for the first couple of years as the plants which we're mostly biannual would eventually die off as there wouldn't be the land grazing mammals there to eat their seeds and spread them over the landscape. It would take literally thousands of years to get the spirit lake national park to look like what it does today if it wasn't for humans banding together and doing the right thing...mother nature can look after herself but let's take some of the weight off her shoulders when and where we can...starting with that can/bottle of juice in your hand, put it in the correct recycling ♻️ bin...remember everyone, it's not about us, it's our grandchildrens generation we need to think about and the generations in front of us and we all need to set the right examples in life. The 3rd rock from the sun won't be fun if we don't do something about it 🌍

[@hpmmiggie]

Sounds great, what's this Doc called?

[@garethgilmour9021]

@@hpmmiggie kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y2Wyc5aIfb1keMUsi=r4ohWOFLuYlj_OLR

[@vintagethrifter2114]

The eruption of Mt. St. Helens was a natural event. The planting of trees is simply humans trying to change something that they don't agree with, just like humans changing the natural paths of rivers.

[@stevenstart8728]

​@@hpmmiggietry searching Peter Andrews the willow man.

[@jeffh8803]

In those cases the remedy is artificial and the cause is natural. Even re-digging rivers is a bit sketchy as to what is “correct”

[@mrgirling1840]

I wonder if it will start to cut a deeper channel over time.

[@petenikolic5244]

First bit of REAL Reporting the BBC has done for years

[@CenturyHomeProject]

We need to be looking into doing this here in the states.

[@BrenainnJordan]

That's great news, restoring nature piece by piece 😊

[@EVOpower]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@donaldauguston9740]

This was fabulous. Thank you for sharing. DA

[@fatfish6763]

how cool is that

[@althyk]

Good nature brings joy and happiness. Their eyes are sparkling 🤩

[@michaelatkins4501]

Somerset levels next …. Because they certainly need it.

[@spencersanderson1894]

If the sea level keeps rising anyway we won’t need to, Mother Nature will do it for us. But I like your thinking!!

[@AnjiDuff]

I live on the levels. There is no safeguarding or infrastructure in place to withstand flooding as is. Pollution and Hinckley Point will kill everything living for miles. We already have raw sewage and road run off burning the land.

[@michaelatkins4501]

@@AnjiDuff I grew up there out by the rusty axe 🪓 and it was bad then back in the 90s

[@karlpopewoodcraft]

Excellent.

[@nikakiskainourgios2227]

Mother nature can live with or without the human beings.

[@LudvigIndestrucable]

It's an artificial wetland. Filling a river with rubble isn't natural, it's fly tipping.

[@raclark2730]

@@LudvigIndestrucable Rivers are full of rubble in nature. Bacteria and other life lives in it and this filters the water.

[@wandering_pete]

@@LudvigIndestrucable " Filling a river with rubble isn't natural, it's fly tipping." And river's never get filled in by landslips ever do they.....

[@paulsengupta971]

@@LudvigIndestrucable Refilling what was taken out originally.

[@dazt5831]

@@paulsengupta971 not necessarily most rivers are actually fine silt and sediment beds especially slow flowing small ones like was transformed in this video, my thoughts are what happened to any fish uisng the original modified river because its going to be impossible for them to survive in the swamp thats been created

[@dreamer2260]

Super project. Thanks for sharing.

[@PatBlackwell-z3i]

Wetlands are one of the keys to a healthy life

[@SamhainBe]

Brilliant - Well Done!

[@robc1014]

“There are predators here too” ironically hilarious warning from the BBC.

[@PawesomeCatVideo]

sad comment

[@Phil-oj5nr]

In NZ we have lost over 90% off our wetlands in the last 160+ years. Where I live there is a vast wetland that was covered in willows, these have been killed and are slowly rotting away. Even in the seven years since we arrived, you can see a slow improvement. When we lived in the North Island there were two wetland restorations in our East Coast area, and both were very successful. However, it would impossible to restore every lost area, but if you are aware as you travel through the landscape, you can see where large areas have been drained for farming.

[@vinucini4341]

Praise God. I saw this article on BBC 1 year ago. One of the best articles ever broadcasted on BBC. ❤ to work in an institution like this

[@Lisargarza]

I actually got goose bumps watching this!

[@ashrevlution3456]

The river will reform in a couple of years. It won't stay as a wet land. Mother nature is going to have the final say

[@xaiano794]

LOL shows you're not from the country. All rivers would be wetlands if they weren't managed, virtually all river channels in the country are heavily maintained.

[@williamlowry8809]

It probably will become more 'river-llke' in some areas but it will look nothing like the straight, deep channel that used to be there

[@paulsengupta971]

But that's the idea. The river reforms in a way that nature intended, i.e. it runs normally when there's a normal amount of rain. When there's more rain, it'll flood, and the cycle reaches an equilibrium.

[@dazt5831]

@@xaiano794 the river tees upstream from darlington is not modified (except for a couple of wiers) for 60 miles of its 85 mile length and its a river not a wetland so that proves your point incorrect

[@xaiano794]

@@dazt5831 Your comment is very saddening, it shows how little about British history people know today. Firstly you are comparing a major river in an upland area to this small stream in the video. Obviously that isn't an apt comparison, but of course we can consider the river tees up in the Pennines where it is of a similar size. The massive reservoir should be a dead give-away as to how natural the river's setting is, but the fact that there isn't a single tree doesn't strike you as odd? The area that is now moorland used to be a great forest, one of many in the north (you can still see the names of them on ordinance survey maps) - the one that covered this area of the Tees valley was called Milburn Forest. The trees and leaves would clog the small streams and create wetland areas, but as you may suspect, there isn't a single tree left of that entire forest and the river flows rapidly down, carrying all the topsoil along with it, leaving the whole tops of the hills much more barren and lifeless. Sadly this is exactly the type of environment that is perfect for grouse shooting and those estates pay a lot of money to ensure that the land is kept tree-free with large annual maintenance projects.

[@charliewyatt6997]

So they’ve monitored downstream but what about upstream? Surely if they fill a river bed in they’re affecting the flow rate upstream of that point? Was there significant build up of water volume upriver? Any extra instances of flooding attributable to the works carried out?

[@Razorokc]

What a waste of time and money to straighten a river. Good lord.

[@templeofdelusion]

Even bigger waste to backpedal into restoring it to how it was.

[@monnoo8221]

yep, just another example of the idocy of idealism, environmental imperialism, addiction to engineering, based on christian ideology

[@Fabian-bx5pm]

Wow, this is impressive! Well done!!!

[@SuzieQGirl]

90% of wetlands lost in the UK in the last 100 years!?! 🤯

[@rb9580]

Well...I've been hearing that quote for the last 40 years, so I suspect that it might be getting slightly out of date now! Yes, there was a surge of drainage schemes during WW2 and just after, but the real peak of agricultural drainage was probably in the 1840s (indeed, my great, great grandfather moved from his croft on Skye in the potato famine days, to become a drainage contractor further south). But it's certainly true that we have lost most of our wetlands, so I guess the time-frame really doesn't matter.

[@greeenjeeens]

Hello from the fens! 😅

[@thomasdalton1508]

If this is true, then it is very misleading. There is nothing special about the last 100 years. The draining of the Fen started nearly 400 years ago. It may be that 90% of what was left 100 years ago has been drained since, but that's completely arbitrary.

[@dazt5831]

and a large portion of that can be chocked up to councils allowing floodplain development for houses which then have to have flood defenses built but atleast when it floods governments can quickly jump on the false agenda of globull warming

[@ddoherty5956]

Yeah the Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire fens laugh at the BBC 🤣🤣🤣

[@karentruempy397]

That is awesome! What a great experiment to be a part of. There is another way to ask this question: what happens if a river sets itself free? Part of that can be answered by looking at the damage from Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina. The rivers took back the land, destroyed whole towns. The rains from several days before the hurricane came through added to the natural redirection of the rivers and streams. Both are examples of how nature operates and reclaims the lands that humans have tried to shape to fit their own wishes and uses.

[@andyalder7910]

Now add beavers.

[@JaNouWatIkVind]

We have had a similar project of redirecting a straightened river near my house. Beavers came! Plenty of trees down ;)

[@andyalder7910]

@@JaNouWatIkVind Just found out there are beavers in an enclosure on Holnicote Estate just 500m away, so they may well extend the enclosure some day to encompass this site.

[@andyalder7910]

@@JaNouWatIkVind Beavers there too, but fenced in down stream.

[@ginojaco]

Some facts: the money to do this was the best part of £1m; this is a stretch less than 300 meters long; it meant the loss of 25 hectares of arable land; a huge amount of downstream river pollution was caused by soil run-off; to fix that a huge amount of non-local and therefore unnatural stone was brought in to act as a filter... Any awful farmer or builder causing that much downstream damage would have been prosecuted - for some reason the National Trust seem to have got away with it. So a huge amount of money spent and damage done for relatively little benefit. If you want wilding, buy some land and just leave it, completely, go away and let nature take over.

[@JamesZaraza-wv3gt]

@ginojaco Yeh, the video missed a few crucial questions I feel any journalist or especially scientist would have thought to ask. Namely, what is the duration of the study, is a channel expected to reform, were sediment traps used downstream, ect. Can you provide a link to the other report you are quoting for your info? I am curious to compare.

[@andyalder7910]

I can see this clearly on Google Maps, but I can't see the stone filter. "satellite" view is out of date though so nay show up later, in the mean time any photos etc available?

[@micklumsden3956]

Can BBC or NT reply to these suggestions?

[@Automedon2]

I don't imagine the UK has any water shortage, but in arid parts of the US recreating winding rivers and streams allows more water to seep down into the water table rather than run off quickly There are programs to re-introduce beavers, which build dams and flood the land, forming ponds which have countless benefits. Even if it's small projects that reverse what people have done to the land, it always makes me happy to see success.

[@briantheminer]

I saw it on the news, it’s not natural though when they put felled trees down to slow the flow

[@themasqueradingcow91]

It's replicating the role of animals like beavers and the natural process of hundreds of years of trees falling

[@raclark2730]

Because trees don't fall in rivers in nature. look again.

[@briantheminer]

@@themasqueradingcow91 but look at the title, setting a river free 😂

[@raclark2730]

@@themasqueradingcow91 Yes log placing is beaver mimicry.

[@pinkwhale731]

Can’t remember the last time I saw a beaver in this country! 🦫 Just so you know what I was referring to!

[@MarlenaDedo]

That water is soo clear. Bravo! First thing I thought was - this will reduce flooding downstream

[@huw3851]

Presumably this wetland is temporary, relatively speaking, and the river will eventually cut a channel. Would it then be 'interfering with nature' to block it up again?

[@dirkboch128]

This may very well take centuries, and the result will look very different from the artificial channel it was. But the interfering with nature was the killing of the beavers, reintroduce them and nature is blocking its streams all the time.

[@rb9580]

Yes, that was my thought, too. If there is a reasonable flow, it will surely create more of a channel than is shown in the film. A beaver or two might help keep it wide and maintain a wetland feature but, if there really is a river there (rather than it simply being a damp valley with a seasonal stream) some form of main channel is bound to form.

[@markstamp3937]

The channel it will find will still meander leaving a wetland habitat and reducing downstream flooding compared to the original straightened channel

[@cjyoung7372]

The vegetation will stabilize the ground and the river has access to it's floodplain it will hardly have a chance to scour a channel. In theory it will remain like this unless it's tampered with

[@williamlowry8809]

As is said in the video, there always was a river there and if it goes back to that I'm sure they will be happy, but the point is it will be nothing like the heavily artificialized river that it had become.

[@worschtebrot]

This is amazing! Thank you for reporting on this trailblazing project! ❤🧡💛💚💙💜

[@caesar7734]

If the Earth existed for 46 years, dinosaurs went extinct 8 months ago, humans existed for 4 hours and the industrial revolution begun 1 minute ago.

[@RoughWalkers]

My big toe 100%

[@monnoo8221]

and ????? You wish everything returns to the state of bacteri life, just in the oceans?

[@RoughWalkers]

@@monnoo8221 how did you manage to find offence at that? Go have a lie down hahahah What a mincer

[@RoughWalkers]

@@monnoo8221 at what point do they say that? You fickle.people always manage to find a way to be offended

[@kurtoogle4576]

So glad this worked out!

[@megapixies]

Just needs a few beaver now.

[@andyalder7910]

They have some in an enclosure downstream.

[@LeaveCurious]

Bottom line is we need more of this. Done strategically its a win on all fronts - rewilding marginal low productivity land has little to no effect on food production but huge ecosystem services for people and ecological benefits. For anyone worried about this costing money, there's various ways to rewild a river - beavers even work for free 🦫

[@andyalder7910]

Any chance of you videoing it? Presumably NT will charge you an arm and a leg though.

[@LeaveCurious]

@@andyalder7910 would like to do an update on it next summer for sure

[@corvanphoenix]

That's brilliant! Great work!

[@HonestTom1892]

I’ll be sure to tell a co-worker about this today.

[@geoms6263]

He is a worker not your friend.

[@HonestTom1892]

@@geoms6263 That’s why I tell them useless knowledge.

[@daddio449]

Beavers would have done a better job at a much lower cost.

[@outdoorsy01]

Leave the rivers alone. Simple

[@Maxibo234]

Actually wasn't simple. They've all been tampered with already.

[@outdoorsy01]

@@Maxibo234 so now, leave them. Whichever route the rivers take, they take.

[@harrimi]

You don’t understand the project . Previously the river was artificially straightened. This is intended to reset it back to what nature intended. Surely that is a good thing.

[@outdoorsy01]

@harrimi I say leave the rivers alone and your response is I don't understand the project. Seems like you don't understand my comment. I've been an advocate for rewilding for years. Trying to make something wild is not the way to go about it. Once you go hands off, remain hands off, even when it doesn't look as wild as you think it should, and same for the opposite. If it's a boring yet natural river, don't go planting wild this and wild that jist to please yourself. Nature will take over and put itself where it wants to. Nature reserves are the worst for this as they are never allowed to change over time.

[@x87-64]

@@outdoorsy01 No nature won't just do its own thing. If humans have tampered with it, it is best if it is taken back to its original form

[@Arkantos117]

Lot of people ignorantly criticising farmers in the comments as though they know better.

[@user-i-dot]

look maw we can make a swamp.

[@michaelarrowood4315]

What a wonderful outcome! Thank you for this report.

[@daveburnham9111]

Clarkson should try this.

[@PawesomeCatVideo]

LOL, imagine that

[@TheOriginalDeckBoy]

Now this is leadership and marvellous work.. keep it up Britain...

[@EVOpower]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@gscott1239]

I miss doing this with my Daddy so much

[@InsomniacBogart]

This is beautiful to see, thank you!

[@melaniepage6933]

Just stop interfering with nature.

[@raclark2730]

Much of the interfering happened centuries ago. This is making things right. Easy to complain from a comment section though eh.

[@thegreenmage6956]

Excellent work. Bring Britain back.