About the project

Less than 1% of the East Midlands Region's 'wild-fen' wetlands remain today and the surviving fragments are scattered and vulnerable. Many of the special plants and animals associated with these wetlands are now rare or threatened with extinction.

The Lincolnshire Wet Fens Partnership propose to restore, over the next 25 - 50 years, wetlands in the area of Baston, Thurlby and Deeping Fens (up to 800ha). These wetlands will form part of a wider proposal to restore large-scale wetlands (10,000ha) across the whole of the East Midland and East Anglian Fens.

Although extensive, these new wetlands will still represent less than 2.5% of the Fens as a whole, the remainder of which will continue to be dominated by agriculture. They will make a major contribution however, to Local and National Biodiversity Action Plans helping to maintain and restore lost fenland landscapes and wildlife, promote sustainable development and help reduce the impact of climate change.

The South Lincolnshire Fenlands Partnership will also seek to provide educational, leisure and recreation facilities for local communities and visitors; improve flood protection by providing additional flood storage areas; create local jobs and work; and reconnect the local communities to their fenland history and natural heritage.

Baston and Thurlby Fens Nature Reserves (covering 55 hectares) are nationally important and designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). They are the best remaining examples of wild wetland to be found in the northern half of the Fens. The primary objective of the Baston and Thurlby Fenland Project, is to restore a large block of the former 'Wild Fen' around these vulnerable havens, to ensure that future generations may experience and appreciate their unique fenland heritage in perpetuity.