Canada Farm Meadows Rewetting

Natural England awarded a contract to John Porter on 30 June 2026 for £48,400 to rewet Canada Farm Meadows at Shapwick Heath SSSI by replacing four defunct culverts and restoring 700 metres of ditches across 10.6 hectares of floodplain grazing marsh on deep peat soils. The works will restore water conveyance to the site year-round, benefiting wetland species and breeding waders while reducing peat oxidisation and carbon emissions. The project includes culvert installation using galvanised steel motorway barrier headwalls with rigid twin-walled plastic pipes, woody vegetation removal, silt removal, and disposal of vegetation matter, with work to be carried out within the designated SSSI and in compliance with environmental and protected species requirements.