aliens, we are Canadian,

Australian, and New

Zealanders just out side

York, and every other town in

the UK”. Ok, so we know

there is a great deal of

license in this but we

thought it sort of worked!

With a significant increase in

our level of seriousness we

ask the main questions, how

did they get here, what are

the implications and has the

industry managed to find a

way to eradicate these

seemingly indestructible

invaders.

All in all an action packed

issue, and we hope you enjoy

reading it as much as we

enjoy putting these things

together.

Nick Hartley

The lyrics from the popular

song are quite poignant at

the moment with the

unseasonably warm, yet wet

weather, bringing a number

of aquatic issues on all water

courses, to the forefront of

professionals’ minds.

From the ever challenging

problem, which is the

seemingly endless and

unstoppable spread of

non-native vegetation, to the

potential project stopping

issue of cost effective silt

management on site. The

aquatic sector is facing some

of its toughest ever

challenges and new

techniques are crucial to help

achieve more sustainable

and more economical project

completion.

In the first of our newsletters,

Ebsford Environmental are

looking at a wide range of

topics, all specifically relating

to the aquatic market and

those involved within.

We have a mix of industry

news, project case studies,

and this month we are lucky

enough to have a guest

article by Graham Cousins,

the Managing Director of

British Flora who will discuss

the benefits of using locally

grown and UK provenance

aquatic plants.

In a new feature , looking at

unique machinery which we

feel is assisting the market

we “road test” one of the

TRUXOR range of machines.

Keeping the musical theme

of our newsletter, we discuss

“illegal aliens, we are illegal

“If you take my advice, there is nothing as nice. As messing about on the river”

Project News—Rookery Lake, Dorking

Ebsford Environmental are

delighted to be working on a

number of projects in the South

East of the country.

One of our favourites is a

privately funded project on a

multi-use lake in the Dorking

area. Suffering from a huge build

up of silt caused by overhanging

vegetation, the lake is now

undergoing extensive work

which will see areas cleared, the

construction and manufacture of

silt islands and the planting and

sowing of native wildflowers and

aquatics which will replicate the

natural surroundings.

The project is currently underway

and will be completed in the

Spring of 2012.

Covered this month:

Dredging and silt retention

Bio-engineering and stabilisation

Aquatic weed control

Native aquatic plant supply and installation

Machinery spotlight—TRUXOR

“Focus On”—Aquatics

Even in November the mild and wet

weather has meant that aquatic

invasive vegetation is still thriving and

showing no sign of typical annual die

Ebsford Environmental

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Inside this issue:

Invasive Aquatics

2

TRUXOR Road Test

2

Aquatic Plant Selection 3

Silt Management 3

Company Info 4

Free Wildflowers 4

The recorded instances of non

native aquatic invasive plants is

increasing at a speed only matched

by their ability to choke and destroy

every environment they come

into contact with.

With glossy, waxed coats

almost impervious to chemicals,

deep rhizomes which are

impossible to remove mechanically

and a taste which is unpalatable to

all but the most desperate of

predators, is there any way to keep

these unwelcome visitors at bay

and indeed where did they come

from?

The names are a dead giveaway as

to the ancestry of all these plants,

however as with most

environmental issues in the UK it is

the vanity and apathy of man which

has allowed such a devastating

spread.

90% of non native aquatic plants

recorded in the UK were or still are

available as ornamental pond or

aquarium plants. It is only after

rapid colonisation and disposal

that the impact to the wild

environment is highlighted.

With a number of the plants being

added to amendment of Schedule

9 Part 2 of the Wildlife and

Countryside act, it is now more

important than ever that effective

control is adopted. So, if all the

usual methods are ineffective, how

do you fight the fight?

An approach which uses a

combination of all or some of the

systems available will usually

achieve the best results.

Weakening the plant with a low

dose chemical application

conducted at 72 hour intervals,

followed by a careful mechanical

removal to a depth of 2m can be

highly effective. If space and

budget allows, a covering with a

membrane over the affected area

can also restrict and prevent any

future growth and complete a

process.

Additionally, some environmental

measures can be done to try and

reduce the re-growth once removal

has taken place. Increasing the

flow rate of your pond can help,

and in extreme cases the

introduction of grass carp can also

limit spread.

It must be remembered that even

using all these options may not be

a guaranteed long term solution, it

is important therefore that before

tackling a weed problem, that you

prepare yourself for a long and

difficult battle.

tightest of

access routes, leaving almost no

evidence of its arrival. Its graceful

entry into the water was almost an

anticlimax, leaving our team with

grand visions of a robotic Tom

Daley and reaching for imaginary

score cards.

Traversing along the bank of the

lake, happily clearing vegetation,

the Truxor works effectively either

on water or if necessary can clear

terrestrially. The unique weed

harvester attachment enabling the

machine to remove some of the

more problematic weeds down to

depths in excess of 2m.

A simple change to the

hydraulics can see a number of

attachments be fitted. These

include a range of silt pumps,

excavator attachments and even a

clam shell, all of which are ideal

for silt collection and bank works.

The clear benefit of this is that is

allows a single, low impact

mechanical solution to be

specified for a full range of

operations.

At the end of the two days, we

were left with an ecstatic client, a

project delivered ahead of time

and under budget and some new

friends.

The only down side we could find

to write about is that they currently

have no plans to allow self drive

hire of the machines. News of this

left two staff and a client checking

our banks to see if we could afford

one ourselves.

So, thanks to our friends at

Aquatic Solutions, Ebsford

Environmental were given access

to their range of machines on one

of our projects in October.

The day started hesitantly. Waiting

at the side of a lake you could be

excused for expecting to hear the

familiar beep, beep, beep of a

large delivery vehicle, banks man

in tow, lumbering across the

pastureland and down the muddy,

difficult access route, destroying

everything in its way.

This proves to be the first of the

many surprises you will be given

when using this machine. Arriving

on a small trailer towed by a

pickup, the Truxor is light and

small enough to simply

manoeuver itself through the

The TRUXOR range of machines—Has the long reach had its day?

Invasive Aquatic Vegetation—Endless curse or potential cure?

Page 2 “F

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“Weighing in at

less than 1500kg

and able to work

terrestrially or

aquatically, the

TRUXOR offers

real flexibility”

From top;

Parrots Feather

Canadian Pondweed

Australian Swamp

Stonecrop (plus close up)

The importance of using UK native

and local provenance vegetation on

habitat restoration projects is now

widely accepted and implemented

in restoration projects.

EU legislation, such as The Water

Framework Directive, stipulates the

environmental improvement of

water bodies with a focus on

ecology and this has led to an

increase in the number of aquatic

improvement projects where the

use of native local provenance

plants is a legislative requirement.

The use of native plants is

particularly relevant on aquatic

sites, where it is difficult to

establish plants from seed and the

requirement for rapid plant

establishment to stabilise and

withstand changes in water flow is

the key.

The UK boosts a wide variety of

aquatic and marginal plant species

that can provide biodiversity and

environmental benefits, whilst

providing a colourful palette for

aesthetic planting schemes. Plant

species selection should take into

consideration important

information such as planting depth,

water levels and flow rates. There

are a wide variety of native aquatic

plants differing in form, flowering

period and colour that can be

selected for specific purposes such

as improving water quality,

reducing erosion of banks and

attracting certain wildlife.

A diverse mix of plants with

differing and long flowering

seasons will greatly enrich an area

for biodiversity and aesthetics. All

these options should be

considered at inception and design

stage of an aquatic scheme. Ask

yourself what you are trying to

achieve and then select the correct

plants seeking advice from

specialists in native flora.

Planting density, plant size and

installation methods are the

material consideration in native

landscaping, which is sometime

overlooked, especially in times of

economic uncertainty. With

budgets being cut around the UK, it

is often the case that cost savings

will be made by selecting smaller

pot sizes, fewer plants or by

accepting unsuitable planting

conditions in order to complete

projects early or in budget

Ultimately, the success or failure of

an aquatic planting scheme comes

from the quality of the stock from

the nursery. Problems can range

from plants with insufficient root

development, diseased plants or

plants which contain one or more

invasive aquatic plants as listed on

Schedule 9 of The Wildlife and

Countryside Act. These issues can

all have negative consequences.

Reputable suppliers should be

members of BALI and also

subscribe to the code of conduct

set out by Floralocale. If in doubt

before placing any orders, check on

the website www.floralocale.org to

see if your supplier is approved or

speak to the statutory advisors at

the Environment Agency.

As with most things in life, if you

consider what you want to achieve,

take time to install, complete the

work to a high standard and buy

high quality plant products, then

you will ultimately achieve success

first time round.

www.britishflora.co.uk

When embarking on a project

which may require silt removal,

huge cost and environmental

benefits can be achieved by taking

a long term and integrated

approach to silt management.

On man made water bodies,

creation of marginal zones or is-

lands using reclaimed silt planted

with native vegetation can improve

water quality and also aesthetically

and Ecologically enhance the whole

area.

In most natural occurrences, silt is

likely to be made up of

organic matter in one form or

another and this will usually make

it extremely high in nutrients and

ideal for use as a planting medium.

Despite, and in some instances

because of this, it is unlikely that

any landfill facility will classify the

material as inert; this can lead to

an increase in disposal costs and a

decrease in available landfill

space, two things that are

particularly high on the economic

and environmental agenda.

For small areas or where on site

retention is not suitable, silt

receptor pits can be created or

surface laid bags constructed and

landscaped post completion

So next time you are working in

water, why not try and think green,

save money and retain your silt.

Ebsford Environmental are able to

give advice and complete all silt

retention and removal projects.

Aquatic Plant Selection —a guest article by Graham Cousins, MD British Flora Ltd

How do you solve a problem like Silt removal?

Page 3

“Ask yourself

what you are

trying to achieve

and then select

the correct plants

to achieve this.”

Silt bags can be a cost

effective way of dewatering

silt with limited space.

Species such as Carex bring both

Ecological and Environmental

benefits.

grasses local to the

project area and are

specifically designed for

both the application and

soil conditions. So be it

Aquatic work, Invasive

Weed eradication or

Reptile Fencing on Green

field, Brown field or even

Woodland area you know

that we are restoring your

project to the way nature

intended.

If the sowing doesn't fit in

with your development

then don't worry, we can

supply the service to a

local wildlife charity,

school or organisation of

your choosing on your

In a bid to promote the

decade of bio-diversity

and to continue to offer

our clients the most

ecologically sensitive and

aware contracting service

available. Ebsford

Environmental have

teamed up with our

friends at BritishFlora to

design a range of

promotional seed

packages which will be

supplied and installed by

Ebsford Environmental

staff at the end of each of

our contracts.

Each 1kg bag will contain

a mix of Native

Wildflowers and Amenity

behalf, what better

message for a developer

to give to the local

community?

Full details and

specifications will be

given at proposal stage

together with a detailed

overview of species and

location.

Each 1kg bag will provide

enough seed to sow an

area of approximately

100m².

1200 Century Way

Thorpe Park

Leeds

LS15 8ZA

Phone: 01132 251 5015

Fax: 01132 251 5100

E-mail: info@ebsford.co.uk

Ebsford Environmental

Free Wildflower Seeds and Sowing with every order before Summer 2012!!

Ebsford.co.uk

Field of Oxeye Daisy in Northumberland

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Ebsford Environmental is a consulting and contracting

company specialising in the specification and implementation

of bespoke environmental and ecological remediation

solutions to the UK market.

Ebsford offers a complete end-to-end full-service solution

in contrast to the more usual requirement to employ an array

of consultants, implementation specialists and cross market

subcontractors.

We offer services to our clients in the following areas:

Ecological consultancy and mitigation

Aquatic remediation, bio engineering and green

solutions

Site clearance and preparation

Invasive species and vegetation management

Remediation and ground working

From first contact, meeting our technical consultants and all

the way through to full completion, you will find Ebsford

offers a high level of service, support and excellent project

delivery skills.