The Habitat Restoration Co. was commissioned by South West Lakes Trust to undertake a further phase of river restoration along the River Meavy, upstream of Burrator Reservoir on Dartmoor.
The Meavy runs through a particularly rich and varied landscape, moving from open moorland and historic tin-streaming ground into wet woodland, marshy areas and mature woodland before reaching the reservoir.
The section we were working through had the feel of a classic Dartmoor river corridor: rocky, heavily vegetated and humid, with trees and boulders carrying thick growths of mosses, lichens and liverworts. In places the conditions were strongly characteristic of the temperate-rainforest climate found across parts of the South West.
The wider site was equally varied. Heather, bilberry, sphagnum moss, wet grassland and bankside vegetation sat alongside willow, alder, oak, beech and spruce, creating a genuine mosaic of woodland, wetland, moorland and river habitat.
Client Brief
Previous restoration work undertaken in 2023 introduced woody material at a number of locations along the river to improve habitat diversity and strengthen the relationship between the channel and its floodplain.
Our phase of work was intended to develop this further using live bankside trees, predominantly willow, which could be partially cut and hinged into the channel while retaining a living connection to the stump.
Rather than installing a series of identical structures, the aim was to create varied pieces of large woody material that responded naturally to each part of the river.
Branches were retained wherever practical to provide complex in-channel structure and cover, while the positioning of individual trees was intended to influence flow, encourage pool and side-bar formation, create areas of scour and deposition and improve habitat for fish and other aquatic wildlife.
THRC Solution
Before the river work itself could begin, access was one of the first practical issues to address.
Parts of the working reach were enclosed by dense riverside vegetation, so we selectively strimmed an access route through to the river and between working areas. This wasn’t general vegetation clearance; it was enough to provide the team with clear, safe access and egress and ensure that the controls identified within our site-specific risk assessment could actually be followed on the ground.
Once established, the team worked progressively downstream, assessing each location individually.
This approach was important because placing woody material within a river immediately changes the way water moves through that section. Rather than deciding every feature in advance, we could look at the existing channel, available trees, banks, flow and the influence of previously installed features before deciding what was appropriate next.
Willow provided the principal material, alongside selective management of alder and other bankside trees where suitable.
Existing riffles were deliberately protected, particularly because of their value as fish habitat, while canopy management was kept equally selective. In some locations there was an opportunity to introduce additional light over shallower sections, while retaining shade over deeper pools and quieter areas of channel.
The work was carried out using chainsaws, hand tools, ropes and controlled manual positioning rather than heavy machinery within the river.
That low-impact approach was particularly important on this site. Mosses, lichens and liverworts were abundant across trees, rocks and damp woodland features, while sphagnum, heather, bilberry and wet ground vegetation occurred through the surrounding habitat mosaic. Unnecessary disturbance would have been completely at odds with what the project was trying to achieve.
Working Within a Living River Corridor
One of the most noticeable things about working on the Meavy was just how much life there was around us.
The river and adjoining woodland supported a wide variety of flora and fauna, and during the works we recorded sightings including dipper, kingfisher, goldcrests and grass snake, alongside the much less obvious diversity of mosses, lichens, liverworts and wet woodland vegetation covering the valley.
Those observations weren’t the purpose of the job, but they were a useful reminder that river restoration isn’t simply about altering flows.
The river channel, surrounding trees, deadwood, banks, wet ground and woodland floor all function together. The woody structures we were installing therefore had to sit naturally within an already complex habitat rather than dominate it.
End Result
The completed reach now contains a series of varied, naturally connected woody structures distributed through the river rather than a repetitive line of constructed barriers.
Some features provide dense submerged and marginal cover. Others influence flow direction, encourage scour, create quieter water or help promote local deposition. Open sections of channel remain between them so that the river retains a varied sequence of pools, riffles, faster water, slower margins and wooded sections.
Because many of the features retain a living connection to the bank, they should also continue to change as the trees grow and respond to future river conditions.
Over time, the structures can trap smaller woody material, leaves and sediment, create additional refuge for aquatic wildlife and strengthen the physical connection between the river and its margins.
For us, the River Meavy was a particularly good example of why habitat-restoration contracting needs more than simply the ability to carry out the physical work.
We were operating in a complex Dartmoor river system containing mature woodland, wet ground, sensitive lower plants and a wide range of wildlife. Access, tree selection, cutting, positioning and even how much vegetation to remove all required judgement on site.
The objective was never to impose something new onto the river. It was to work with the structure, vegetation and natural processes already there, and give the river a little more complexity to work with.
