{"id":24731,"date":"2023-06-20T14:13:29","date_gmt":"2023-06-20T13:13:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.southglos.gov.uk\/newsroom\/?p=24731"},"modified":"2023-06-21T16:32:10","modified_gmt":"2023-06-21T15:32:10","slug":"water-voles-settle-into-new-home-at-one-of-uks-newest-wildlife-wetlands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.southglos.gov.uk\/newsroom\/environment\/water-voles-settle-into-new-home-at-one-of-uks-newest-wildlife-wetlands\/","title":{"rendered":"Water voles settle into new home at one of UK\u2019s newest wildlife wetlands"},"content":{"rendered":"

Water voles are busily burrowing into a new home at one of the UK\u2019s newest wetlands near Bristol after they were released onto the site. With its ditches and vegetation, the wetlands are the perfect habitat for these brown furry mammals which are amongst the most endangered species in the UK. Watch our video of the water voles arriving at their new home here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The wetland, at Hallen, is part of over 80 hectares of new wetland habitats created by the Avonmouth Severnside Enterprise Area (ASEA) Ecology Mitigation and Flood Defence Project<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Nationally, coastal wetland habitat is one of the most valuable natural habitats, but it is under threat from rising sea levels because of climate change. The Severn Estuary is home to internationally important bird species and the new wetland habitat will help all manner of wildlife to thrive. The project is also planting hundreds of native trees to improve the environment for years to come. Water voles are environmental engineers, creating habitat for their burrows, and are a crucial part of ecosystems.<\/p>\n

Before the water voles\u2019 move to their new home, the team checked that the area was free of American mink\u00a0(an invasive species), as the water vole population has been severely affected by this species in the UK. The team also checked the ditches for existing water voles to avoid any competition between the newcomers and resident animals. Once it was safe to move in, the voles were put in pens with plenty of straw and food so they could get used to their surroundings on the first day. On day two, the team put out a baffle on the front of the pen so the voles could go in and out.<\/p>\n

All the voles have successfully been released. The team is allowing the animals to settle in before carrying out follow-up surveys.<\/p>\n

The ASEA project is a partnership between South Gloucestershire Council, Bristol City Council and the Environment Agency.\u00a0A joint venture between BAM Nuttall and Mott Macdonald (BMMJV) was appointed to undertake the detailed design and construction of the Avonmouth flood defences and wetland area.<\/p>\n

Councillor Louise Harris, South Gloucestershire Council\u2019s Cabinet Member for Climate and Nature Emergency, said: \u201cWe want to protect and boost nature through our climate and nature emergency work and, as part of this ecology mitigation and flood defence project, we are ensuring that a thriving environment will be established for people and wildlife. We\u2019re optimistic that the water voles will colonise the new wetlands habitat and we\u2019re proud to be helping this endangered species. With a network of ditches on site, the wetlands have real potential to become a stronghold for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Councillor Kye Dudd, Bristol City Council\u2019s Cabinet Member for Climate, Ecology, Waste and Energy, said: \u201cOver the last 40 years the water vole population has dropped by 90 per cent, putting the species at serious risk of extinction. These new homes are a step towards supporting the species away from that risk and I\u2019m pleased we can play a part in helping their population grow. We\u2019re committed to enhancing our natural environment and providing a huge boost to nature and wildlife projects such as this \u2013 working across the organisation as part of our Ecological Emergency Action Plan.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Water voles are busily burrowing into a new home at one of the UK\u2019s newest wetlands near Bristol after they were released onto the site. With its ditches and vegetation, the wetlands are the perfect habitat for these brown furry mammals which are amongst the most endangered species in the UK. Watch our video of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":24733,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2681,561],"tags":[2524,2534,1091],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.southglos.gov.uk\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24731"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.southglos.gov.uk\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.southglos.gov.uk\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.southglos.gov.uk\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.southglos.gov.uk\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24731"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sites.southglos.gov.uk\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24731\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24738,"href":"https:\/\/sites.southglos.gov.uk\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24731\/revisions\/24738"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.southglos.gov.uk\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24733"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.southglos.gov.uk\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.southglos.gov.uk\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.southglos.gov.uk\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}