Fen Meadow Restoration at Carlton & Oulton Marshes

At 161ha (398 acres) and extending over 1 mile, Carlton & Oulton Marshes are now the largest wetland complex in the Suffolk Broads. In January 2015 Suffolk Wildlife Trust bought Groom’s Marsh, a 2.2 acre block of fen meadow which has been neglected for over 25 years and is now overgrown with scrub. Fen meadow has been highlighted by the Broads Audit as the most important habitat in The Broads for the range of species associated with it.

The project will restore the open fen habitat and reinstate the network of species-rich boundary dykes so that it can be grazed by cattle. This will return Groom’s Marsh into sustainable management and secure its future as botanically rich wildlife habitat. Cattle grazing and ground disturbance will re-establish natural functions, such as seed dispersal, and the reappearance of plants that cannot tolerate competition, such as bog pimpernel, bog bean and marsh cinquefoil.

The restored boundary dykes will extend the network of species-rich Broadland dykes.