About Us
Looking after water means looking after nature and the environment too.
That’s why we’re launching our biggest ever project to give nature a boost across our region. We’re going to:
Plant 1.3 million trees
Revive 12,000 acres of land
Restore over 2,000km of rivers
What’s good for nature is great for your water!
From the wild moors and limestone dales of the Peak District to the river valleys of the Severn and the lowlands of the Trent, our region is blessed with rich, diverse and beautiful landscapes, habitats, and rivers.
These natural wonders capture, hold and carry your water until we are ready to take it, treat it and bring it to your taps.
Caring for nature benefits your water too. When we improve the health of our region’s woods, soils, rivers and wetlands, we also invest in natural water filters to clean and care for your water – improving the quality and making it more wonderful than ever. By making water in the environment purer, it also means we need to use less energy and less chemicals to treat and clean it too, helping to keep your bills low.
The size of our Great Big Nature Boost
We’ve committed to boosting nature across 12,000 acres of land in the Severn Trent region by 2027 - that’s an area bigger than Gloucester!
We'll also be helping to care for over 2,000km of rivers, because we know the health of our river’s natural environment and the quality of our natural water go hand in hand.
The nature boosting we’re doing
Planting over 1.3m trees
Trees not only provide homes for our incredible native wildlife, they contribute to natural flood management, and they help remove carbon from the environment
Creating wildflower meadows
Wildflower meadows encourage beneficial insects and birds, which are natural predators of pests that would otherwise damage farmers’ crops. Farmers then use less pesticides, reducing the risk of chemicals running into local rivers.
Restoring moorland
We’re restoring moorland in the upper Peak District. The moors provide important habitats for some truly amazing bird species such as curlew and skylark. Healthy moorland also helps to make soil less prone to erosion and reduces the impact of flooding along rivers and streams.
Restoring bog and peatland
Healthy peatbogs trap and store millions of tonnes of carbon and absorb vast quantities of water, acting like big sponges. In many places, peat has been drained, dried out, and exposed to the elements. This releases carbon back into the atmosphere and allows sediment to be washed into watercourses. With restoration we can re-wet and reset the system.
Our partners and projects
We will continue to work with some of the most prominent nature protectors to deliver a number of nature boosting projects, including:
Covering 200 square miles of the Midlands, The National Forest is one of the UK’s most ambitious environmental projects.
Nearly nine million trees have been planted so far, increasing woodland cover from an initial six per cent to over 21%, now more than double the national average.
No multi-purpose forest on this scale has been created in the UK for one thousand years, bringing all the benefits of trees and woodlands to its communities, the wildlife and the economy.
Everyone can help create this Forest. There are schemes large and small to help people plant trees and individuals can dedicate a tree.
We’ll work with the National Forest, who run a grant scheme for landowners to enhance their woodland habitats.
We’re also helping to support and provide grants for schools to engage students to make biodiversity enhancements within their school grounds and developing their connection with nature.
Started in 2003, the Moors for the Future Partnership works to protect the most degraded landscape in Europe.
Using innovative conservation techniques, it has transformed over 34 square kilometres of bare and degraded peat bogs in the Peak District National Park and South Pennines.
A monitoring programme provides evidence of the effectiveness of these techniques and is backed up by innovative communications that inspire people to care for these special places.
The work of the Partnership is delivered by the Peak District National Park Authority as the lead and accountable body. It is supported through its partners including Severn Trent.
From 202 to 2025, we will continue to work in the Upper Derwent Valley of the Peak District, where we will be improving moorland and restoring peat bogs.
This work will help with flood prevention from storm waters and keep valuable soils on the moorland instead of washing away into valleys and reservoirs below, which means less soil for us to remove from the water in the treatment process.
The RSPB is the UK’s largest nature conservation charity, inspiring everyone to give nature a home.
Together with our partners, we protect threatened birds and wildlife so our towns, coast and countryside will teem with life once again.
We play a leading role in BirdLife International, a worldwide partnership of nature conservation organisations.
We’ll work with the RSPB in Sherwood Forest to improve and preserve some of the beautiful ancient woodland, helping groundwater to be naturally filtered through sandstone aquifers and into boreholes for extracting. This amazing work will protect vital water supplies for the future whilst also improving water quality.
The Wildlife Trusts is a grassroots movement of people from a wide range of backgrounds and walks of life, who believe that we need nature and nature needs them.
They have more than 850,000 members, 38,000 volunteers, 2,000 staff and 600 trustees. They are made up of 46 independent charities, each formed by people getting together to make a positive difference to wildlife and future generations, starting where they live.
We’re working with many regional Wildlife Trust’s on enhancing and creating habitats on over 980 acres within Warwickshire and Nottinghamshire.
Work will include rewilding, creating new woodlands, building wetlands, and planting new hedgerows as well as ensuring wildflower meadows and wild grasses can thrive.
And we’re working closely with the Trusts on two projects to help reintroduce beavers in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.
We dream of wild, healthy, natural rivers valued by all. Yet, currently only 14% of rivers in England are at good ecological status and have been declining over recent years.
The Rivers Trust is the umbrella organisation for 60 local member Trusts, who are the only group of environmental charities in the UK and Ireland, dedicated to protecting and improving rivers for people and wildlife.
They provide expert assistance and advice to help us get a number of wetlands projects up and running.
Wetlands provide a nature-based solution to keep too many nutrients out of water, which means we have to clean it less, which improves your water quality too! Not only that they help reduce risks from flooding and provide a home to many species of wildlife.
One of the most well-known charities in the country, The National Trust cares for places of historical interest and or natural beauty.
We’re working with the National Trust in the High Peak Moors to re-plant and regenerate moorland cloughs (woodlands on the edge of open moorland), panting native broadleaf trees to provide landscape and wildlife benefits.
We’re also working together to create over 300 acres of woodland by planting over 11,000 trees.
We’re protecting your water supply too!
Caring for nature has never been more important, especially with global threats of both climate change and the destruction of natural habitats, caused by human demand and increasing population.
Protecting nature and helping to stop climate change go hand in hand, because as humans, we rely on nature to provide some of our best protection against climate change, like extremes of temperature, rainfall or even drought. But climate change has a damaging effect on nature too, meaning it can’t always protect us.
While these challenges are global, we’ll take action in our own region.
- We’ve made this commitment to care for and replenish nature because the natural environment is part of our supply chain and a vital partner to our reservoirs and supplying our water. Taking care of it is important so that we can ensure that your water supply is always there.
- Committing to net zero carbon emissions from our operations by 2030 to minimise our impacts on pollution – one of the main contributors of climate change. And the great thing is we’re confident we can achieve this, because the improvements we’ll be making to our water’s quality through helping nature, means less energy is needed during our treatment process.
How you can get involved in the Great Big Nature Boost
These events have now closed. Find your nearest site here.
Have a Great Big Nature Boost adventure at one of our 3 visitor sites and learn why what's good for nature is great for your water too!
| Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 October 2020 | Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 October 2020 | Saturday 24 and Saturday 25 October 2020 |
|---|---|---|
Carsington Water 10.00 - 16.00 |
Tittesworth Water 10.00 - 16.00 |
Draycote Water 10.00 - 16.00 |
What’s on:
- Kids nature trails – join in our tree trail, there’s lots of fun nature facts to find hidden around our sites! You can even enter in to a prize draw to win a nature goody bag and other prizes too!
- Nature activities run by our partners such as making mini Beaver Dams by the Wildlife Trusts. Learn about the work our environment partners do to care for our region's rivers, wildlife and habitats.
- Pick up some free goodies like tree and seed packs to care for nature at home.
There's lots to keep little ones (and big ones!) entertained.
Good to know: These events are outside, so please check the weather prior to coming along. If has been raining the grass may be muddy, therefore appropriate clothing and footwear will be needed. We have sheltered spots on site including our visitor centres and on-site cafes and restaurants.
All activities and entry are free! Car parking charges to the site apply.
All our activities are Covid secure and in line with Government guidance.
We have plenty of hand sanitisers around our site for you to use. We
kindly ask that you please abide by the Government advice at all times when at our sites, to keep yourself, your family and other visitors safe.
Caring for nature at our visitor sites
Our visitor sites not only provide us with the opportunity to engage with customers about the wonderful water we provide, they also allow us to give back to nature.
We have 21 rangers who run and take care of our many visitor sites, they work with both volunteers and organisations like the RSPB and Wildlife Trust to protect and nurture the wildlife that make their homes in and around our beautiful reservoirs and woodlands, including rare species such as butterflies, water voles and tree sparrows.
Some of our visitor sites are even listed as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) which means they are protected to conserve their wildlife or geology.
Run your own nature project with our grant scheme
From schools and businesses to local conservations group, if you have a nature project that needs a boost, see if you can apply for our Boost for Biodiversity grant.
As well as working with our key partners to deliver some of our greatest environmental ambitions,
We love to support lots of small projects, and the passionate people behind them, that truly make a positive difference to our region’s wonderful habitats and wildlife.
Our Boost for Biodiversity grant scheme
You might be a local business, a school, a conservation group or even a charity – whoever you are – we want to hear about your great ideas or projects that will enhance, or improve nature in our region and you could get the financial support you need to make it happen.
Our Boost for Biodiversity grant scheme opens next year, so if you would like to express an early interest in applying for a grant please contact us at ecologymatters@severntrent.co.uk and we’ll be in touch once our scheme opens.
The scheme is open to:
- Schools
- Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs)
- Community groups
- Charities
- Businesses
- Farmers
- Landowners
The project area must be a minimum size of 0.5 hectares (1.2 acres) or 500 metres of river or hedgerow. The project must be in the Severn Trent region and not under any other existing environmental grant or stewardship for the same type of work.
Treflach Farm’s nature story
Learn how to care for nature at home
You can take some small steps to help nature.
Whether you have a large or small outdoor space, there are lots of things you can do to give nature a home, from growing flowers to feeding birds.
Here are some tips from our nature partners.
Make a bird feeder
Attract all kinds of wonderful birds into your garden and give our feathery friends the food energy they need! High-energy (high-fat) foods are great, especially during the cold winter weather which help them to maintain their fat reserves and survive the frosty nights.
Here are two types you can try:
A super simple apple feeder (RSPB)
To make a simple apple feeder for birds, you’ll need:
- An apple
- Some thread
- Two sharp thin sticks like wooden BBQ skewers
- Seeds - sunflower seeds are great
Follow these steps to make your apple feeder:
- Cut the core out of the apple and thread some string through it.
- Attach two sticks in an ‘X’ shape to the bottom of the apple for the birds to sit on.
- Using the end of the string push seeds – like sunflower seeds – into the apple and hang it up.
Create a fat cake (National Trust)
To make a fat cake bird feeder, you’ll need
- Lard, suet or leftover fats from cooking (room temperature)
- Handful of bird seed
- Handful of peanuts (unsalted)
- Grated cheese or raisins
- Dry leftovers (oats, bread or cake)
- Old clean yoghurt pots and string
Follow these steps to make your fat cake:
- Melt the fat slightly if it’s chilled and hard.
- Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.
- Make a small hole in the bottom of each of your yoghurt pots.
- Thread a length of string through the hole and tie a knot to secure it.
- Pack each pot tightly with the mixture. Put it in the fridge until it’s set hard.
- Once it’s fully set, carefully cut away the yoghurt pot and recycle it. It should crack off OK if the mixture is cold enough.
- Tie the string over a tree or shrub branch. Make sure you pick somewhere away from cats! If you find it’s a bit crumbly, next time add a little more fat and a little less dry mixture.
Make a bug mansion (Wildlife Trust)
An average garden accommodates more than 2,000 different species of insect!
Very few of these creatures cause significant damage to our prized plants, and there are many more insects that actually help us to control the ones that do!
By providing the right habitats we can greatly increase the number of ‘beneficial’ insects in the garden.
One way to increase the comfort of your patch for insects is to build them a bug mansion.
To build a bug mansion, you’ll need:
- Wooden pallets
- Dead wood
- Stones and tiles
Make your bug mansion
- The basic framework is made of wooden pallets. Try to use recycled or reclaimed materials where you can.
- Place the bottom pallet upside down. This should create larger openings at the ends, which can be also be used for a hedgehog house.
- Stack the pallets on top of each other. The mansion doesn’t need to be higher than five pallets.
- Although the structure should be stable, you might want to secure each pallet to the one below.
You’ll need to fill the gaps in your bug mansion with things that will make the residents of your new mansion feel at home. This should include:
- Dead wood. Dead wood is an increasingly rare habitat and is essential for the larvae of wood-boring beetles. It also supports many fungi, which help to break down the woody material. Crevices under the bark hold centipedes and woodlice.
- Hollow stems. Hollow stems, such as old bamboo canes, or holes drilled into blocks of wood, make good nesting sites for solitary bees.
- Stones and tiles. Amphibians need a frost-free place to spend the winter. Provide stones and tiles in the centre of your habitat to give amphibians the cool, damp conditions they need.
- Straw and hay. These provide many opportunities for invertebrates to burrow in and find safe hibernation sites.
- Dry Leaves. Dry leaves offer homes for a variety of invertebrates by mimicking the litter on the forest floor.
- Loose bark. Beetles, centipedes, spiders and woodlice all lurk beneath decaying wood and bark.
- Corrugated cardboard. Roll up a piece of corrugated cardboard and put it in a waterproof cylinder to create a home for lacewings.
- Dry sticks. Dry sticks are perfect for ladybirds to hibernate in.
- Nectar-producing plants. Plant some nectar-rich flowers like Heather or English Bluebells or Honeysuckle in and around your new bug mansion to provide food for butterflies and bees.
Make a mini homemade pond (Wildlife Trust)
Water brings a magical quality to your garden and is the key to life for so many creatures that live in it.
Mini ponds are a fantastic addition to any garden and a great way to give nature – such as frogs and insects like Dragonflies a home.
You can use a washing up bowl, a bucket or plant pot as the base of your pond, once you have that you’re ready.
- Choose a spot. Your pond will want light, but not full sunlight all day. You can dig a hole and sink your container, or just have it sitting on top.
- If the container isn’t watertight, e.g. an old plant pot, then add a piece of pond liner.
- Add a layer of gravel and rocks inside. Use logs or stones to create a range of depths outside and a slope for creatures to climb in and out. If your container isn’t sunk in you’ll need a ramp from the ground outside the pond.
- Fill your pond – use rainwater, not tap water.
- Start planting! You only need one or two plants.
Great plants for small ponds include:
- Miniature waterlily
- Lesser spearwort
- Starwort
- Flowering rush
Now watch and wait! Wildlife will come to your pond of its own accord. Don’t introduce frogs, fish or even water from another pond as this can spread disease.
Make a mini wildflower meadow (RSPB)
Attract and nurture a variety of insects and wildlife by planting your own wildflower meadow!
Autumn is the best season to start your wildflower meadow.
To create a mini wildflower meadow, you should:
- • Choose somewhere open and sunny
- • Remove 3-6 inches off the top of the soil as well as any weeds and rake so the surface is even
- • Sow your seed. Seed mixes can vary but usually you’ll need about five grams of seed per square metre of meadow
Top tip: Mix your wildflower seeds with some silver sand to make it spread evenly and grow quicker (the type used for block paving – not builders' sand this is too damp)
- • Scatter the seed as you walk across the ground to try and get an even coverage.
- • There's no need to rake the seed in or cover it with soil, but gently walk across it so that the seeds are in contact with the soil. You may need to net it from birds.
- • Keep it well watered and check your seed pack to see when you can expect your first flowers to show!
Caring for hedgehogs in autumn (Wildlife Trusts)
It’s estimated that the UK has lost 95% of its hedgehogs since the 1950s, so our prickly friends need all our help.
Through the autumn, particularly during November around bonfire night, don’t forget to check under the bonfire for snoozing hoggies before you light it!
The Wildlife Trusts and the Royal Horticultural Society have put together [a PDF guide to help you care for hedgehogs in your garden, which includes instructions on how to build a hedgehog house!
Send us a snap of your nature projects and we’ll share our favourites with all our followers on social media!
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