An exciting new project to re-create a rare and vanishing habitat for wildlife, as well as aiming to champion sustainable flood management on the Forth has opened the floodgates this week at RSPB Scotland's Skinflats reserve.
Entitled Skinflats Tidal Exchange Project (or STEP Forth) the £150,000 project has seen the transformation of agricultural land at RSPB Scotland’s Skinflats Reserve through the excavation of pools and creeks and the insertion of a pipe into the sea wall to allow the Forth to flood the site. Over time, the flow of the tidal water will create salt water pools and salt marsh on the reserve, benefiting many different types of birds as well as other wildlife such as otters. A new flood embankment at the back of the site will contain the water on the reserve and ensure that no other properties or land will be affected.
Although on a small scale, it is hoped that the project will demonstrate the potential of an active flood management programme, whereby areas of less sensitive land can be sacrificed during flooding incidents to alleviate pressures on built up areas. Skinflats is hemmed in by major industrial developments like Grangemouth, Longannet and the Kincardine bridge, and yet with good planning, wildlife and the natural environment can still have its place amongst this backdrop
RSPB Scotland Reserves Site Manager for Skinflats, Nick Chambers, said:
“STEP Forth is the first project of its kind in Scotland, to create a fantastic wetland habitat for wildlife like pink-footed geese, ringed plover, redshank and otter, as well as being a model for sustainable flood management in Scotland."
"We can't claim that this project alone will make a noticeable difference to tide and flood levels, but by showing that this can be done safely, hopefully the door will be opened to more projects like this along the Forth. If enough land was managed like this to allow high tides to naturally flood coastal land, flooding could be alleviated for thousands of people living in places like Falkirk. We must thank SEPA, Forth Valley and Lomond LEADER, Falkirk Environment Trust and Avondale landfill as well as SNH for the funding which has allowed this to happen, as well as Falkirk Council for its support through the project."
SEPA’s Senior Flooding Policy Officer Andrea Johnstonova said:
"SEPA is very supportive of this project, and has contributed £67,000 to what is hoped will be a useful pilot in demonstrating more natural techniques which will aid in flood risk management. SEPA will be watching this project with interest, with a view to applying similar techniques and lessons learned in other suitable parts of Scotland."
The location of the site, near the Kincardine Bridge, is currently an improved grassland field called Bothkennar, once the site of scientific studies into the properties of clay. The reserve boundary extends out-with the seawall onto an area of mudflats, which are internationally important for wintering ducks, geese and waders, and which are covered by the Firth of Forth Special Protection Area (SPA) and Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) for these species.
Works on the site include the construction of two pools and gravel topped islands, which should attract breeding ringed plover. Other plans for the future include the building of footpaths and a hide on the reserve, allowing people to get close-up views of the resident and visiting wildlife.
