Sweet Briar Marshes: Restoring urban biodiversity

This project will improve biodiversity by restoring and creating key habitat features at urban nature reserve Sweet Briar Marshes in Norwich, purchased by NWT in 2022. It comprises 36.5ha of fen, wet grassland, old hedgerows and woodland, and a SSSI. A natural flood plain for the chalk-fed River Wensum, which forms its southern boundary, it is part of a near continuous chain of wildlife-rich habitats along the river valley corridor. The key priority habitat is lowland meadows and pasture, and wet grassland and ditches support a number of rare/scarce Norfolk plant species. However, major parts of the reserve have been poorly grazed or not grazed for long periods, which has negatively impacted the abundance and diversity of plant species. The site’s habitats are therefore at risk, and the project will re-establish grazing to improve grassland condition and restore a species-rich sward, installing grazing infrastructure and purchasing cattle controlled by GPS collars.