Guided Walk around Tollesbury Wick
Tollesbury residents enjoyed a guided walk of the Wick on Tuesday 7th October.
The walk was organised by Essex Wildlife Trust (EWT) in collaboration with Tollesbury Climate Partnership.
Nineteen residents from the village and three members of EWT joined the walk. Adam Nixon and Matt Twydell from EWT were there to provide information on the work of EWT and the latest developments. The route started at the gate on the sea wall beyond the marina and finished at the pill box at Shinglehead Spit.
The Reserve
Matt described how the landscaping had been developed to support a wide range of wildlife. Grazing cattle and sheep had been introduced to help manage the freshwater grazing marsh in the most sustainable way. The pasture is now a perfect habitat for Field Voles and Pigmy Shrews. Otters and Stoats have also been sighted in the habitat.
The Wick provides excellent habitat for overwintering duck, geese and divers. The shingle spits also provide nesting grounds for Little Terns, Oystercatchers, Ringed Plovers, Redshank and Avocets. Spoonbills and Glossy Ibis can also be seen from time to time.
The Wick is also home to Marsh Harriers Kestrels and Owls.
A recent addition to the Wick has been the erection of a predator fence around part of the marsh to deny entry to various animal predators such as Otters, Stoats, Foxes and Hares.
Sea Defences and Recharge Scheme
The second part of the walk focused on the Beneficial Use of Dredged Sediment (BUDS) project which will happen over the next two years. Just offshore from the pillbox at Shinglehead Spit can be seen the impact of the work by the Mersea Harbour Protection Trust (MHPT) in 2022 and by the EA in the 1990’s. Here, dredged sediment was deposited to create a spit to protect the marsh from wave and storm damage.
A new project will involve the delivery of approximately 85,000 cubic metres of sediment on the foreshore of Old Hall Point, Cobmarsh Island and Tollesbury Wick to create approximately 6.7 Ha of vegetated shingle beach habitat.
The sediment will be dredged from Harwich Haven approach channels and port berths as part of routine maintenance dredging and brought to the receptor sites. This project will be implemented during 2026 and 2027. Local stakeholders will be consulted on the project a presentation by EWT will be arranged in the coming months.
The link below will take you to Youtube, and shows exactly how the recharge is performed:
Since the previous recharge took place, some people have taken to landing on the shingle strips from small boats for recreation. This disturbs the nesting birds and EWT are keen to try and prevent this from happening. The Climate Group will help to reach out to the community on this matter.
If you have any questions, looking for further information or want to get involved with any Marine projects then contact us at hello@tollesburyclimate.org
Ian Marwood