Norfolk nature recovery project uses environmental DNA

Land managers at Albanwise Environment have teamed up with environmental DNA (eDNA) specialists NatureMetrics and law firm Mills & Reeve to transform an area of peatland near Stoke Ferry.

Mike Edwards, director at Albanwise Environment, said the site was identified as the land is prone to flooding and poor drainage, "making it a more difficult area to consistently farm productively,"

He added that the location, on the floodplain of the River Wissey, also makes it "possible to re-wet the area relatively easily."

The pioneering partnership aims to create a large, biodiverse new area for wildlife including rare and threated wetland species, such as dragonflies, otters, wildfowl and birds - while also bringing long-term benefits for the wider community. 

Land managers at Albanwise Environment have teamed up with eDNA specialists NatureMetrics and law firm Mills & Reeve to create biodiverse new wetland habitats in west Norfolk. Pictured: Siobhan Browne collecting environmental DNA samples (Image: Matthew Power Photography) In the first step towards planning the site's restoration, NatureMetrics has extracted genetic traces from soil samples to detect which species live in and around the project area.

These eDNA samples will be compared to global reference libraries containing the genomes of tens of thousands of species, and also to samples taken from existing wetland sites nearby.

The results will inform the restoration plans, so the team can optimise the landscape changes for local wildlife and forecast the habitats that could develop in the next 20-30 years.

Andy Millar, Norfolk environment manager at Albanwise, said: "Stoke Ferry wetland is a fantastic opportunity to create a new nature-rich landscape at scale and achieve multiple aims for wildlife, people, and climate resilience in one go.

"Re-wetting the peat soils and creating a new wetland will help create a more sustainable land management model that’ll store water, draw carbon back into the ground, build flood and drought resilience, and create habitats that can potentially produce high-welfare meat for consumption through extensive grazing.

Land managers at Albanwise Environment have teamed up with eDNA specialists NatureMetrics and law firm Mills & Reeve to create biodiverse new wetland habitats in west Norfolk. Pictured: Chris French, Justin Ripman and Craig Hodgson (Image: Matthew Power Photography) "Our partnership with Mills & Reeve and NatureMetrics will help in gathering the best possible data and evidence to help develop the project and ensure maximum benefits for wildlife at the site."

Jessica Wilkes-Ball, head of sustainability and net zero at Mills & Reeve, said: "Partnerships like these are vital to collectively move the dial on sustainability.

"We really see the value in nature restoration, biodiversity net gain and nature recovery."