Long Lane Pasture is a green oasis in Finchley, North London. Bordered by the North Circular Rd on one side and the tube line on another, it is managed as a local nature reserve by the Long Lane Pasture Trust.  Our task was to construct a large pond with associated landscaping works and to improve access by installing a surfaced pathway around the site with a viewing/pond dipping area overlooking one end of the pond.

The area adjacent to Kidney Wood on the new motorway junction works in Luton. The hedge in this picture was layed, and new whips planted. The grassland area between the hedge and the wood received approx. 200 tonnes of translocated heathland turf from a restoration project at Coopers Hill, Beds, a Wildlife Trust reserve, replicating habitat previously found here.  Other sites receiving this turf for heathland re-creation projects are Centre Parcs, Woburn and RSPB at The Lodge, Sandy, Beds. The large drainage run-off pond nearby was planted with aquatic plants and soil plugs from Leagrave Marsh, Luton to help accelerate natural colonisation.  Countryside Contracts are also responsible for the on-going management of Kidney Wood for Luton Borough Council.

Houghton Regis Chalk Pits is a Wildlife Trust reserve and SSSI near Dunstable which is renowned for rare plants such as Chiltern Gentian. On this site we installed over 1300 metres of crushed limestone surfaced path to improve access and mobility around the site. We constructed a 115 metre boardwalk and excavated several seasonal pools through an area that regularly floods during the winter.  We also extended an existing 'scrape' area with muddy margins which regularly attracts wading birds such as lapwing, jack snipe and green sandpiper. A small stream rising from the chalk underground was diverted away from the new path via a culvert, creating a new wet area.

Also known as The Welsh Harp, Brent Reservoir straddles the London Borough's of Barnet and Brent near Hendon. As a large urban SSSI it attracts many species of birds including breeding Common Terns. Our brief from The Welsh Harp Conservation Group and British Waterways was to replace the aging collection of tern rafts with around twenty new ones which was completed over two seperate programmes. We have since periodically maintained these rafts - replacing broken boards and re-dressing with shingle when required. Countryside Contracts have also undertaken similar tern raft installations at Dunstable Sewage Treatment Works for the Bedfordshire Bird Group and Anglian Water.

Stony Hills is a conservation area within Luton situated on old gravel workings. With adjacent sites containing threatened species such as Great Crested Newts and Water Voles, Luton Borough Council required a new pond to increase diversity at this urban site. As the soil here is unsuitable for a naturally excavated pond and with a low water-table, this pond is lined with blue puddling clay, relying on natural precipitation and surface run-off for its water supply. Perimeter post and rail fencing was erected.