Monitoring & Research

A wide range of data is gathered at the Great Fen, as part of an ongoing ecological monitoring programme. This includes information about birds, mammals, invertebrates, amphibians and plants. Abiotic data is also recorded, such as temperature, rainfall, water levels, water quality and carbon emissions.

This programme helps to determine the effectiveness of habitat management and restoration, and the colonisation of species, and feeds into national schemes measuring climate change. This involves working alongside project partners, academic institutions and other landscape scale restoration projects.

Our ongoing investigation into the movements of our stonechats at the Great Fen continues. If you would like to find out more about he exciting developments, read about our stonechat research and look out for updates on this topic and others in our monitoring & research blogs. If you spot any stonechats in or nearby the Great Fen, please let me know.

Since the 1800’s wildlife has been recorded at Holme Fen and Woodwalton Fen. What started out as wildlife recording has developed into more structured programme of ecological survey and monitoring. To understand the benefits of the restoration work at the Great Fen we need to gather data before, during and after.

We gather information about the farmland, the land being restored and the existing nature reserves in this diverse Living Landscape, and on the movement of wildlife within it and, in and out of the Great Fen area. The information gathered on groups of species and their habitats then shapes the future management of the landscape.

The monitoring and research at the Great Fen is carried out by our team of invaluable, dedicated, volunteers (the Great Fen Monitors) as well as Wildlife Trust staff, Partnership staff, contractors, local natural history societies, university students and visiting naturalists.

If you visit the Great Fen for personal interest, we would greatly appreciate receiving your own wildlife sightings of birds or other wildlife. These can be sent to me, Henry Stanier.

If you would like to get an idea of what wildlife to look out for at the Great Fen, browse our sightings reports. 

Henry Stanier (Great Fen Monitoring & Research Officer)