PR1845

10th April 2008

Water companies sign up to help the plight of the water vole

This week (6 April 2008) water voles are given new special protection under the Wildlife and Countryside Act to help stop their decline in numbers which have dropped dramatically from seven million in 1990 to one million in 1998. It is now a criminal offence to intentionally kill a water vole or to intentionally damage or disturb the places they use for shelter or protection.

To help raise awareness of the plight of the water vole and ensure that their future is more secure, Three Valleys Water has joined forces with The River & Rowing Museum and six other water companies in the South East of England, the Environment Agency, Waterwise and the Consumer Council for Water to sponsor the River & Rowing Museum’s Ratty’s Refuge at next month’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show, 20 – 24 May, 2008.

The garden, designed by Ann Robinson and Angela Potter of English Eden, shows how gardeners within 1km (0.6 miles) of a river or water course can do their bit to create a habitat for water voles within a small urban setting. The garden, not only provides plenty of dense, lush planting for the water vole it also doubles-up as a sanctuary to escape the rush of modern living. The environmentally-friendly permeable decking provides the perfect space for dining out during the warm Summer evenings.

It also celebrates the 100 th birthday of Kenneth Grahame’s classic book The Wind in the Willows, the star of which is Ratty, a water vole. The River & Rowing Museum has the only dedicated Wind in the Willows exhibition and the garden will be recreated back at the Museum so that visitors to the museum can both enjoy the Wind in the Willows experience and a water vole’s habitat.

Andy Smith, Managing Director of Three Valleys Water said: “We’re really pleased to be supporting the River & Rowing Museum’s Ratty’s Refuge. The South East of England is under increasing pressure from housing development and population growth and gardeners have a very important role to play in creating and maintaining wildlife corridors.

“With more properties built at higher densities and also home owners paving front gardens to park their cars, the amount of green space within urban areas is decreasing. We hope that this beautiful garden will not only inspire existing and new gardeners to look at how they can help to save the water vole but also to think about the importance of water in the garden. Capturing rainwater for garden use is better for plants and using permeable surfaces to allow water to filter through to the aquifer is good for the environment.”

To find out more about the garden log on to www.rattysrefuge.co.uk – which provides planting ideas and tips for water vole-friendly gardens as well as blogs and pictures charting the progress of River & Rowing Museum’s Ratty’s Refuge at Chelsea.

The Wildlife Trusts’ Top Tips For A Water Vole Friendly Garden:

If your garden backs on to a stream, river, canal or other watercourse:

1. Leave a buffer strip (ideally two metres or more wide) of grasses and other plants along the water’s edge to provide food and cover for water voles.
2. Mow the buffer strip once a year in autumn to limit scrub colonisation and increase plant diversity.
3. Keep banksides open to encourage the lush grasses and other green plants water voles favour.
4. Consider coppicing existing trees and shrubs to increase light levels if appropriate.

If your garden is close to a river, stream, canal or other watercourse:

1. Create a pond with an adjacent wetland area, lining the pond in the traditional way with clay if you can, rather than with butyl or other synthetic materials.
2. Site your pond away from overhanging trees and check the location of service cables and drains before digging!
3. Give your pond a varied bank profile, with banks of around 45 degrees for water voles, and shallower sloping areas that can utilised by amphibians and invertebrates.
4. Ensure that the pond has areas where water is 25cm-50cm deep.
5. Ensure there is open space approximately 10 cm deep along the base of at least one garden boundary to allow access for water voles and other wildlife.
6. Create a shelf around the edge of the pond that can be planted with marginal plants such as Yellow Flag Iris and rushes.
7. Use the Natural History Museum’s postcode plants database to find help choosing suitable native plants for your pond. (Access the database at www.rattysrefuge.co.uk)
8. Make sure that you don’t buy any non-native invasive aquatic plants for your pond. Check out the links on www.rattysrefuge.co.uk for advice and information on which plants to avoid.

Water is a finite resource and correct water use in the garden is vitally important to help reduce its waste. Water in the South East recommends:

• Using a mulch on the garden to help keep the ground moist and reduce evaporation.
• Using water retaining products in pots and hanging baskets.  
• Not watering established trees, shrubs or lawns – they just don’t need it.
• Watering plants directly around the roots.
• Collecting rainwater from down pipes and guttering for watering the garden. 
• Only watering new lawns for around four weeks – established lawns don’t need watering.

END

 Pictures

A wide range of high resolution pictures of the water vole taken by Andrew Parkinson can be downloaded from http://www.kallaway.co.uk/rrm-picture-library15.asp

 Ends

For further information please contact Public Relations, tel: 01707 277110, fax: 01707 277213, website: www.3valleys.co.uk

Note to Editors:

The River & Rowing Museum

The River & Rowing Museum attracts over 100,000 visitors a year and celebrates three themes:

• The past, present and future of the River Thames;
• The historic riverside community of Henley on Thames;
• The international sport of rowing.

These themes are explored through a wide variety of exhibitions and events across four galleries and special exhibitions. One of the Museum’s major successes has been The Wind in the Willows exhibition which recreates the timeless E H Shepard illustrations from Kenneth Grahame’s famous novel. Since opening in August 1998 the Museum has received numerous awards for its design and architecture, including the National Heritage/NPI Museum of the Year award. The River & Rowing Museum is part of the Thames Valley Museums Group (TVMG) Family Friendly initiative – a scheme which brings together 29 museums across Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, to promote their popular appeal to the whole family

• Address: The River & Rowing Museum, Mill Meadows, Henley on Thames, Oxfordshire, RG9 1BF. Tel. 01491 415600 web: www.rrm.co.uk
• The museum, terrace café and shop are open every day from 10am – 5.30pm in summer and 10am – 5pm in the winter
• Paid for tickets are valid for re-entry to the museum for 12 months
• Admission for The Wind in the Willows including the Galleries: £7 for adults, £5 for children and £6 for senior citizens and concessions
• Admission for the Museum Galleries: £3.50 for adults, £2.50 for children and £3 for senior citizens and concessions
• Free parking for visitors

English Eden ( www.english-eden.co.uk)
Angela Potter and Ann Robinson, graduates of Capel Manor College, founded English Eden in 2006 after leaving careers in tourism and the law to pursue second careers in garden design. The pair have a strong interest in ecology and sustainability. In 2007 they won a runners up prize in a competition to design a water show garden for Grand Marnier and Anglo Aquarium Plant Company. Their design ‘Spirit of the Charente’ was inspired by the palace of Versailles and the ecology of the Charente River. In the same year they were involved in the Capel Manor College’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show garden, Growing Together In Faith which won a Silver Gilt Medal.

For River & Rowing Museum’s Ratty’s Refuge, Potter and Robinson have been assisted by fellow Capel Manor College graduates, garden designers, Jean Thomas and Sylvia Ong-Mörtl.

English Eden provides garden design services across South East England.

Water in the South East (www.waterinthesoutheast.com)
Water in the South East is a partnership of water companies in the South East of England (Folkestone & Dover Water, Mid Kent Water, Portsmouth Water, South East Water, Southern Water, Sutton & East Surrey Water, Three Valleys Water) along with the Environment Agency, Consumer Council for Water and Waterwise. The partnership aims to raise the profile of sustainable water management and use within the South East of England. It recognises that gardeners across the UK have an important role in developing and maintaining wildlife habitats but it is keen to promote respect for the environment and that beautiful gardens are not dependent upon the use of large quantities of top quality tap water.

The Wildlife Trusts ( www.wildlifetrusts.org)
There are 47 local Wildlife Trusts across the whole of the UK, the Isle of Man and Alderney, working for an environment rich in wildlife for everyone.  With 726,000 members, The Wildlife Trusts are the largest UK voluntary organisation dedicated to conserving the full range of the UK’s habitats and species, whether they be in the countryside, in cities or at sea. 135,000 of their members belong to the junior branch, Wildlife Watch.  Managing 2,200 nature reserves covering more than 80,000 hectares; The Wildlife Trusts stand up for wildlife; inspiring people about the natural world and fostering sustainable living.

British Wild Flower Plants ( www.wildflowers.co.uk)
British Wild Flower Plants specialises in growing 400 species of native plants. Their plants have known provenance and guarantee of origin with many plants from their own seed collections and they have been peat free since 1991. British Wild Flower Plants supply and grow plants for gardens at most of the yearly shows. Gardens supplied by them have won 6 Gold and 4 Silver Guilt medals as well the people’s award and best in show at all major RHS Shows. British Wild Flower Plants contract grows plants for large planting schemes such as road and landscape projects throughout the UK which has included the Millennium Dome and the Channel Tunnel. The company also supplies Garden centres across the UK with planting packs for the home wild flower gardener.

Andrew Parkinson ( www.andrewparkinson.com)
Andrew is a multi-award winning wildlife photographer whose work is represented by nine of the most prestigious image agencies around the world including Getty Images and Corbis. His work has been published in more than 30 countries worldwide and his photo features appear frequently in publications such as BBC Wildlife. He has a passion for British wildlife and when he’s not in the UK he can be found on location around the world. So far he’s worked on six continents and later this year will be spending two months in the Falkland Islands.

About us
Three Valleys Water has been supplying water to the local community for more than 130 years and is committed to delivering a high quality water service to all its customers . It now provides over 870 million litres of water each day to three million customers, in parts of Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Surrey, the London Boroughs of Harrow and Hillingdon and parts of the London Boroughs of Barnet, Brent, Ealing, and Enfield. The supply area covers a total of 3,700 square kilometres, stretching from Luton and Royston in the north to Guildford in the south, and from Berkhamsted in the west to Dunmow in the east.

Three Valleys Water is the UK’s largest water supply only company and is part of Veolia Water, the world leader in water and wastewater management. If you spot a leak call the Leakspotters hotline on 0800 376 5325 or use our online leakage form.