RESERVED

This is part of a new Nature Reserve purchased by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust in East Yorkshire – the Crystal Clear Project.
Access to Skerne Wetlands - Grid Reference TA 05730 54271 – is by the nearby village of Skerne, with limited access towards Copper Hall Farm.

The habitat consists of a network of streams on chalk, which filters the water and provides in-built control when river levels rise. As 80% of the chalk streams exist in the South of England, this is a unique area of scientific interest. How the folk down south wished they had such natural control over river water.

East Yorkshire is home to the most northerly chalk streams in the UK. Water eventually drains into the River Hull, which is protected by the barrier I blipped last week.
With chalk geology, fast flowing clear waters, and aquatic plants on river banks the headwaters of the River Hull are home to a wide diversity of wildlife.

Skerne Wetlands used to be a commercial fish farm with 60 ponds and a network of ditches. These will be transformed into a mosaic of wetland habitats to include wet grassland, wet woodland, reedbed, fen and pond habitats. The Crystal Clear project will last for three years and aims to restore over 8km of chalk stream, and create new wetland habitat over 39 hectares.
Updates on progress to come.