14th May, 2024 in Local & Family History, Natural World

Restoring and re-wilding Wicken Fen

By Ajay Tegala

East Anglia is known for its fabulous coastline and riverside cities such as Cambridge and Norwich. The countryside in between is all-too-often dismissed as being flat and featureless. While ‘hill’ is a relative term in Cambridgeshire and Norfolk, the rural landscape is certainly not lacking in atmosphere, history or wildlife.

The exposed landscape of the Fens are constantly windswept. Sometimes the light, peaty topsoil on agricultural fields gets whipped up, creating a spectacle rather like a dust storm, known as a fen blow. When not in the air, the soil is a perfect growing medium for crops; many of the country’s root vegetables and salads are grown in Cambridgeshire. But, prior to a significant drainage operation in the 17th century, much of the Fens were underwater in winter, creating a rich habitat for waterbirds and a variety of aquatic creatures.

Few fragments of fen remain in their true state. Just four, in fact; all in Cambridgeshire. Arguably the most famous of this quartet is Wicken. Protected by the villagers who relied on the resources it provided and the Victorian naturalists who collected moths and butterflies there, Wicken Fen came into the ownership of the National Trust.

Since the appointment of the nature reserve’s first Keeper, in the early twentieth century, a small succession of Watchers-come-Wardens-come-Rangers have worked hard to safeguard this precious relic of a landscape almost lost completely. Keeping it wet and open is key, as is creating a mosaic of habitats for the diversity of wildlife that lives here. Since the 1820s, over 9,000 different species have been recorded on the reserve, most of them invertebrates.

But a number of these creatures have gone extinct. Like the swallowtail butterfly – despite three separate reintroduction attempts – the Norfolk Broads now its sole UK breeding ground. To reduce the chance of further losses and increase the opportunity for future recolonisations, Wicken needed to become bigger, better and more joined up.

In the first decade of the 21st century, the reserve doubled in size. Drained land around Wicken has been turned back to nature. Creating a space as unique as Wicken Fen is no mean feat, although simple steps have seen it well on its way.

As a ranger, one of my favourite tasks is ‘turning on the water’ in winter. By diverting a small quantity of river-water onto the Fen, scrapes form and attract water birds literally overnight. Wigeon flock in their hundreds, along with mallard, teal and shoveler. Over time, reedbeds have formed, enabling rare nesting birds such as the marsh harrier and bittern to return. Britain’s tallest bird, the crane, has returned, after a centuries-long absence, benefiting from the new wetland. Otters and water voles inhabit the waterways, occasionally delighting visitors who chance upon them.

There is another key ingredient for the restoration of fenland; large herbivores. Wicken Fen now attracts visitors not just because of its summer cuckoos or winter hen harriers, but because of its breeding herds of horses and cattle, which free-roam across the landscape, evoking an atmosphere from centuries ago. The Koniks (small horses) and Highland cattle play a key role in keeping the fen open, creating a diversity of both habitat types and vegetation lengths. They also spread seed in their dung, which incidentally is a habitat in itself – 20 species of dung beetle have been recorded in Konik dung on the wider reserve.

Out on the fen year-round, come rain or shine, these hardy-but-placid animals are part of the landscape. A key part of reserve management, they are arguably rangers themselves, fulfilling an important function.

Restoring fen, creating reedbed and protecting peat for over thirty years, Wicken Fen has been at the forefront of wetland conservation, pioneers of what has become known as ‘rewilding’. And the future looks just as fascinating as the past.