Latest of the Ebsford Environmental newsletters, the aim of these is to provide industry and market specific information and advice for any of our clients or peers working on similar projects.

1. Ebsford Environmental
Quarter 4—2011
“Focus On”—Aquatics
Covered this month:
 Dredging and silt retention
 Bio-engineering and stabilisation
 Aquatic weed control
 Native aquatic plant supply and installation
 Machinery spotlight—TRUXOR
“If you take my advice, there is nothing as nice. As messing about on the river”
The lyrics from the popular Ebsford Environmental are aliens, we are Canadian,
song are quite poignant at looking at a wide range of Australian, and New
Even in November the mild and wet
the moment with the topics, all specifically relating Zealanders just out side
weather has meant that aquatic
invasive vegetation is still thriving and unseasonably warm, yet wet to the aquatic market and York, and every other town in
showing no sign of typical annual die weather, bringing a number those involved within. the UK”. Ok, so we know
of aquatic issues on all water there is a great deal of
courses, to the forefront of We have a mix of industry license in this but we
professionals’ minds. news, project case studies, thought it sort of worked!
and this month we are lucky
From the ever challenging enough to have a guest With a significant increase in
problem, which is the article by Graham Cousins, our level of seriousness we
Volume 1, Issue 1
seemingly endless and the Managing Director of ask the main questions, how
unstoppable spread of British Flora who will discuss did they get here, what are
non-native vegetation, to the the benefits of using locally the implications and has the
potential project stopping grown and UK provenance industry managed to find a
issue of cost effective silt aquatic plants. way to eradicate these
management on site. The seemingly indestructible
aquatic sector is facing some In a new feature , looking at invaders.
of its toughest ever unique machinery which we
challenges and new feel is assisting the market All in all an action packed
techniques are crucial to help we “road test” one of the issue, and we hope you enjoy
achieve more sustainable TRUXOR range of machines. reading it as much as we
Inside this issue: and more economical project enjoy putting these things
completion. Keeping the musical theme together.
of our newsletter, we discuss Nick Hartley
Invasive Aquatics 2
In the first of our newsletters, “illegal aliens, we are illegal
TRUXOR Road Test 2
Project News—Rookery Lake, Dorking
Ebsford Environmental are which will see areas cleared, the
Aquatic Plant Selection 3
delighted to be working on a construction and manufacture of
number of projects in the South silt islands and the planting and
Silt Management 3 East of the country. sowing of native wildflowers and
aquatics which will replicate the
One of our favourites is a natural surroundings.
Company Info 4
privately funded project on a
multi-use lake in the Dorking The project is currently underway
Free Wildflowers 4 area. Suffering from a huge build and will be completed in the
up of silt caused by overhanging Spring of 2012.
vegetation, the lake is now
undergoing extensive work

2. “Focus On”—Aquatics
Page 2
Invasive Aquatic Vegetation—Endless curse or potential cure?
The recorded instances of non 90% of non native aquatic plants removal to a depth of 2m can be
native aquatic invasive plants is recorded in the UK were or still are highly effective. If space and
increasing at a speed only matched available as ornamental pond or budget allows, a covering with a
by their ability to choke and destroy aquarium plants. It is only after membrane over the affected area
every environment they come rapid colonisation and disposal can also restrict and prevent any
into contact with. that the impact to the wild future growth and complete a
environment is highlighted. process.
With glossy, waxed coats
almost impervious to chemicals, With a number of the plants being Additionally, some environmental
deep rhizomes which are added to amendment of Schedule measures can be done to try and
impossible to remove mechanically 9 Part 2 of the Wildlife and reduce the re-growth once removal
and a taste which is unpalatable to Countryside act, it is now more has taken place. Increasing the
all but the most desperate of important than ever that effective flow rate of your pond can help,
Volume 1, Issue 1
predators, is there any way to keep control is adopted. So, if all the and in extreme cases the
these unwelcome visitors at bay usual methods are ineffective, how introduction of grass carp can also
and indeed where did they come do you fight the fight? limit spread.
from?
An approach which uses a It must be remembered that even
The names are a dead giveaway as combination of all or some of the using all these options may not be
to the ancestry of all these plants, systems available will usually a guaranteed long term solution, it
however as with most achieve the best results. is important therefore that before
environmental issues in the UK it is tackling a weed problem, that you
the vanity and apathy of man which Weakening the plant with a low prepare yourself for a long and From top;
has allowed such a devastating dose chemical application difficult battle. Parrots Feather
spread. conducted at 72 hour intervals, Canadian Pondweed
Australian Swamp
followed by a careful mechanical Stonecrop (plus close up)
The TRUXOR range of machines—Has the long reach had its day?
So, thanks to our friends at tightest of excavator attachments and even a
Aquatic Solutions, Ebsford access routes, leaving almost no clam shell, all of which are ideal
Environmental were given access evidence of its arrival. Its graceful for silt collection and bank works.
to their range of machines on one entry into the water was almost an The clear benefit of this is that is
of our projects in October. anticlimax, leaving our team with allows a single, low impact
grand visions of a robotic Tom mechanical solution to be
“Weighing in at The day started hesitantly. Waiting Daley and reaching for imaginary specified for a full range of
at the side of a lake you could be score cards. operations.
less than 1500kg excused for expecting to hear the
familiar beep, beep, beep of a Traversing along the bank of the At the end of the two days, we
and able to work large delivery vehicle, banks man lake, happily clearing vegetation, were left with an ecstatic client, a
in tow, lumbering across the the Truxor works effectively either project delivered ahead of time
terrestrially or
pastureland and down the muddy, on water or if necessary can clear and under budget and some new
aquatically, the difficult access route, destroying terrestrially. The unique weed friends.
everything in its way. harvester attachment enabling the
TRUXOR offers machine to remove some of the The only down side we could find
This proves to be the first of the more problematic weeds down to to write about is that they currently
real flexibility” many surprises you will be given depths in excess of 2m. have no plans to allow self drive
when using this machine. Arriving hire of the machines. News of this
on a small trailer towed by a A simple change to the left two staff and a client checking
pickup, the Truxor is light and hydraulics can see a number of our banks to see if we could afford
small enough to simply attachments be fitted. These one ourselves.
manoeuver itself through the include a range of silt pumps,

3. Page 3
Aquatic Plant Selection —a guest article by Graham Cousins, MD British Flora Ltd
The importance of using UK native reducing erosion of banks and Reputable suppliers should be
and local provenance vegetation on attracting certain wildlife. members of BALI and also
habitat restoration projects is now subscribe to the code of conduct
widely accepted and implemented A diverse mix of plants with set out by Floralocale. If in doubt
in restoration projects. differing and long flowering before placing any orders, check on
seasons will greatly enrich an area the website www.floralocale.org to
EU legislation, such as The Water for biodiversity and aesthetics. All see if your supplier is approved or
Framework Directive, stipulates the these options should be speak to the statutory advisors at
environmental improvement of considered at inception and design the Environment Agency.
water bodies with a focus on stage of an aquatic scheme. Ask
ecology and this has led to an yourself what you are trying to As with most things in life, if you
increase in the number of aquatic achieve and then select the correct consider what you want to achieve,
Species such as Carex bring both improvement projects where the plants seeking advice from take time to install, complete the
Ecological and Environmental
use of native local provenance specialists in native flora. work to a high standard and buy
benefits.
plants is a legislative requirement. high quality plant products, then
Planting density, plant size and you will ultimately achieve success
The use of native plants is installation methods are the first time round.
particularly relevant on aquatic material consideration in native www.britishflora.co.uk
sites, where it is difficult to landscaping, which is sometime
establish plants from seed and the overlooked, especially in times of
requirement for rapid plant economic uncertainty. With
establishment to stabilise and budgets being cut around the UK, it
withstand changes in water flow is is often the case that cost savings
the key. will be made by selecting smaller
pot sizes, fewer plants or by
The UK boosts a wide variety of accepting unsuitable planting “Ask yourself
aquatic and marginal plant species conditions in order to complete
that can provide biodiversity and projects early or in budget
what you are
environmental benefits, whilst
trying to achieve
providing a colourful palette for Ultimately, the success or failure of
aesthetic planting schemes. Plant an aquatic planting scheme comes and then select
species selection should take into from the quality of the stock from
consideration important the nursery. Problems can range the correct plants
information such as planting depth, from plants with insufficient root
water levels and flow rates. There development, diseased plants or
to achieve this.”
are a wide variety of native aquatic plants which contain one or more
plants differing in form, flowering invasive aquatic plants as listed on
period and colour that can be Schedule 9 of The Wildlife and
selected for specific purposes such Countryside Act. These issues can
as improving water quality, all have negative consequences.
How do you solve a problem like Silt removal?
Silt bags can be a cost In most natural occurrences, silt is When embarking on a project For small areas or where on site
effective way of dewatering likely to be made up of which may require silt removal, retention is not suitable, silt
silt with limited space.
organic matter in one form or huge cost and environmental receptor pits can be created or
another and this will usually make benefits can be achieved by taking surface laid bags constructed and
it extremely high in nutrients and a long term and integrated landscaped post completion
ideal for use as a planting medium. approach to silt management.
So next time you are working in
Despite, and in some instances On man made water bodies, water, why not try and think green,
because of this, it is unlikely that creation of marginal zones or is- save money and retain your silt.
any landfill facility will classify the lands using reclaimed silt planted
material as inert; this can lead to with native vegetation can improve Ebsford Environmental are able to
an increase in disposal costs and a water quality and also aesthetically give advice and complete all silt
decrease in available landfill and Ecologically enhance the whole retention and removal projects.
space, two things that are area.
particularly high on the economic
and environmental agenda.

4. Achieving excellance in land preparation and mamagement
Ebsford Environmental
1200 Century Way
Thorpe Park Ebsford Environmental is a consulting and contracting
Leeds company specialising in the specification and implementation
LS15 8ZA of bespoke environmental and ecological remediation
solutions to the UK market.
Phone: 01132 251 5015
Fax: 01132 251 5100 Ebsford offers a complete end-to-end full-service solution
E-mail: info@ebsford.co.uk 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.
Ebsford.co.uk
Free Wildflower Seeds and Sowing with every order before Summer 2012!!
In a bid to promote the grasses local to the behalf, what better
decade of bio-diversity project area and are message for a developer
and to continue to offer specifically designed for to give to the local
our clients the most both the application and community?
ecologically sensitive and soil conditions. So be it
Field of Oxeye Daisy in Northumberland
aware contracting service Aquatic work, Invasive Full details and
available. Ebsford Weed eradication or specifications will be
Environmental have Reptile Fencing on Green given at proposal stage
teamed up with our field, Brown field or even together with a detailed
friends at BritishFlora to Woodland area you know overview of species and
design a range of that we are restoring your location.
promotional seed project to the way nature
packages which will be intended. Each 1kg bag will provide
supplied and installed by enough seed to sow an
Ebsford Environmental If the sowing doesn't fit in area of approximately
staff at the end of each of with your development 100m².
our contracts. then don't worry, we can
supply the service to a
Each 1kg bag will contain local wildlife charity,
a mix of Native school or organisation of
Wildflowers and Amenity your choosing on your