Work has started on the pools and scrapes in the riverside fields. Diggers have been working slowly through the heavily overgrown areas of White Gate Lag to make it more available to a wider range of waterside plants and animals.
The alders have been removed to provide light and open the vista along the fields. The tangle of water mint and gipsywort, which has begun to dominate and crowd out some of the smaller low-growing plants, has been scraped off. This will encourage the likes of branched bur-reed and spearwort to regain a hold. Some nationally rare plants have been identified and these too will benefit from the open scrapes and the introduction of cattle later on.
The tall alders at the western end (dog bin triangle) have been removed to provide space for a bund (embankment). This will prevent the immediate loss of water across the main paths and direct it back into the river. Another bund at the far eastern end (Kerves Lane) will also direct water a little more – to provide better run-off from the road and to channel it to the lower areas of the field and eventually back into the course of the river.
Tim Thomas, Friends of Chesworth Farm committee
Friends of Chesworth Farm 
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