El Niño is coming – but nature could help
By Community Correspondent
Nature could provide some of the answers to increasingly extreme weather, with wetlands being restored across Staffordshire to help the landscape hold on to water.
Staffordshire Wildlife Trust is carrying out restoration work at Doxey Marshes Nature Reserve in Stafford and at two sites in Stoke-on-Trent.
The aim is simple – to create healthier natural spaces that can cope better with both very wet and very dry weather.
The work comes as experts warn that the return of the El Niño weather pattern could contribute to another period of extreme weather around the world.
This summer has already shown how vulnerable the countryside can be. Prolonged dry weather has left rivers running low, grasslands parched and wildlife under pressure.
Wetlands could offer a natural way to make the landscape more resilient.
They work rather like giant sponges, soaking up and storing rainwater instead of allowing it to run away quickly. During dry periods, the stored water can help keep habitats and wildlife going, while during heavy rainfall wetlands can slow the flow of water and help reduce flooding.
At Doxey Marshes, one of Staffordshire's most important wetland sites, restoration work is helping to bring the floodplain back to better health and create improved conditions for wildlife.
Projects in Stoke-on-Trent are doing similar work, while also giving local people more opportunities to enjoy nature on their doorstep.
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Dave Cadman, Head of Nature Recovery Networks at Staffordshire Wildlife Trust, said the benefits went well beyond helping individual species.
