Wetter Better

As part of our Wilder Connections project, we launched ‘Wetter Better’ in partnership with Freshwater Habitats Trust and the River Restoration Centre.

Aligned with our Wilder Doddington initiative, Wetter Better supports our nature recovery work by rewetting areas of land that were previously intensively drained for farming.

Working across the wider landscape, this project will help create an important freshwater habitat, increase carbon storage in the soil and provide natural flood protection for Lincoln.

Bringing water back to Wilder Doddington

Across the UK, many of our rivers have been straightened, wetlands have been drained and landscapes have been engineered to divert water away as quickly as possible. At Wilder Doddington, we’ve been working to reverse that story.

Since intensive farming ended on the estate in 2021, the landscape has been allowed to recover naturally, shaped by grazing animals and guided by ecological restoration.

Historically, much of Doddington’s heavy clay land was extensively drained to make farming possible. Under-field drainage systems, ditches and a straightened River Hobba rapidly moved water off the land and downstream.

While effective for agriculture, this dramatically reduced wetland habitats and accelerated water flow through the catchment – increasing the risk of flooding downstream.

Through our Wetter Better project, we have the opportunity to turn the clock back and restore these freshwater habitats across the Doddington Hall Estate.

Our aim? To slow the flow of water, reconnect rivers with their floodplains and create a richer landscape for both wildlife and people.

Working in partnership with the River Restoration Centre and the Freshwater Habitats Trust, this ambitious initiative has already transformed more than 200 hectares of land into a thriving mosaic of ponds, wetlands and natural habitats.

Rewilding water

The initial focus of Wetter Better was to recreate freshwater habitats and restore the natural function of the upper River Hobba catchment.

Over two phases of work during autumn 2024 and 2025, we managed to:

• Build more than 30 new ponds across the estate

• Create extensive floodplain wetland habitat

• Reprofile around 700 metres of river channel

• Block historic land drains

• Dam ditches with natural materials to slow water movement

A ‘rough and rugged’ approach 

One of the most exciting elements of the Wetter Better project was adopting a more naturalistic approach to pond and wetland creation. Our guiding principle was that ‘chaos is key and variety is vital’.

Traditional pond excavation often produces smooth edges and tidy shapes. Instead, we embraced what we came to call the “Rough and Rugged” method -  creating ponds and scrapes with irregular profiles, varied depths and uneven topography. This has resulted in a far more dynamic landscape, with a huge diversity of microhabitats.

Some ponds will remain wet year-round, while others will dry seasonally, mimicking natural wetland processes. This variation is incredibly important for wildlife, particularly aquatic invertebrates, amphibians and wetland birds.

Restoring the River Hobba 

The River Hobba, which rises on Doddington estate, had long been confined within a narrow, deepened channel, disconnected from its floodplain.

Our original ambition was bold - to completely fill sections of the artificial channel and encourage water to spread naturally across the floodplain. In practice, mature hedgerows meant we needed to adapt our approach, working carefully with the existing landscape.

Using bulldozers and excavators, we raised the riverbed, created shallow floodplain scrapes and encouraged the river to rediscover natural flow paths.

The work was carried out in early autumn, when the land was dry, so we had to wait to see if our hard work would pay off when the rain came.

In November 2025, the UK was hit by Storm Claudia, the first major storm of the season. The results of our work on the river were immediate. The once-straight channel spread into a wide, shallow wetland system nearly 50 metres across in places. Water was winding naturally through the floodplain in multiple channels and flow paths – the exact kind of dynamic behaviour a healthy headwater river should display.

Welcoming Wildlife back to Doddington

Ever heard the quote, “if you build it, they will come”? Nature wasted no time in moving into these new habitats. The rewetted floodplain area quickly attracted large numbers of wintering birds, including the Common Snipe and the Jack Snipe - a much rarer species that winters in small numbers in the UK. Our new wetlands were perfect for these species, as both of these birds rely on soft wet mud, rich in invertebrates.

Even during the exceptionally dry summer of 2025, the Sedge Warbler came to breed at Doddington. This is a strong indication that the landscape was retaining water longer than the surrounding area.

In 2026, we recorded a Reed Warbler and were incredibly excited to see a Water Rail chick – a species we didn’t know was on-site, let alone breeding.

In the water itself, aquatic life is already colonising the new ponds. Common Darter dragonflies have been busy laying eggs in one pond, whilst another has been colonised by Great Crested Newts.

Teamwork makes the dream work

Our Wetter Better project has been delivered through Wilder Connections, supported by funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, The Linbury Trust and Anglian Water.

Partnership has been one of the project’s greatest strengths. The River Restoration Centre brought expertise in river processes and channel restoration, while the Freshwater Habitats Trust contributed specialist knowledge in pond creation and wetland ecology. Together, our collaboration created a much more holistic approach to catchment-scale restoration.

Through all of our rewilding work, we hope to inspire other businesses to get involved. Local contractor KW Timmins have already embraced the “Rough and Rugged” approach, developing valuable new expertise that is already being sought by other conservation projects across Lincolnshire.

We also couldn’t do any of our work without the support of our dedicated volunteers. From monitoring the habitats to building “leaky dams”, they are helping us to shape the evolving wetland landscape at every stage.

The future of Wetter Better

Although the capital works are complete, the Wetter Better project is very much still in its early stages. Over the coming years, we will continue to monitor hydrology, wildlife and floodplain function, refining and adapting the landscape as natural processes unfold.

Most importantly, Wilder Doddington is becoming increasingly recognised nationally as a leading site for freshwater catchment restoration. Through the development of our new Wild House, we hope to become a regional centre of excellence for wetland creation, training and ecological restoration.