The document summarizes restoration projects by the Norfolk Rivers Trust to balance biodiversity and sustainable water usage in Norfolk rivers. It discusses projects on the River Nar and 9 Chalk Rivers involving sediment trapping, habitat restoration, re-connecting floodplains, and community engagement. The projects aim to address concerns around water quantity and quality, soil loss, flooding, and wildlife by restoring floodplains, re-creating river meanders, trapping silt at its source, and adding woody debris and shade to rivers.

1. Restoring Norfolk’s Rivers
Dr. Jonah Tosney
Norfolk Rivers Trust

2. Current projects:
• River Nar (Catchment Restoration Fund, Coca Cola, WWF)
• 9 Chalk Rivers (Catchment Restoration Fund, other streams)
Norfolk Rivers Trust: balancing biodiversity
with sustainable water usage

3. The 9 Chalk Rivers…
A catchment restoration fund project,
9 rivers, £1.3m, 17 projects

4. Projects:
• Sediment trapping (Nar, Glaven)
• Habitat restoration (Heacham, Babingley, Glaven)
• Re-connecting floodplains (Gaywood, Nar, Glaven)
• Pond and lake restoration (Glaven, Mun?)
• Community engagement (all)
• Catchment management planning (all)

5. Shared concerns
• Water quantity
• Water quality
• Soil loss and sedimentation
• Flooding and drainage
• Wildlife
• Changing climate
• Public access
and shared solutions…

6. Restoring floodplains: use it or lose it?
Floodplain connectivity
• Re-connecting rivers to floodplains
• Effective water-storage
• Increased floodplain and marginal biodiversity
• Improved water quality
• Nutrient re-cycling
• Improved silt management
• Working for farming

7. Rivers Nar, Glaven,
Stiffkey, Gaywood

8. Putting the bends back
Re-creating meanders
• Creates a greater variety of
habitats
• Improves bio-diversity
• Improves silt management

9. The beneficiaries…

11. Stopping the silt
Trapping silt at source (traps, cover crops, wetlands, margins,
access and storage points)
• Preserves top soil
• Re-cycles nutrients
• Protects habitats
• Improves water quality

12. Photos: Luke Mitchell, UCL

13. The desert menu
• Woody debris
• Channel sculpting (terraces, riffles etc.)
• Trees for shade
• Backwaters

14. Jonah Tosney
Norfolk Rivers Trust
jonahtosney@norfolkriverstrust.org
www.norfolkriverstrust.org