Portsmouth Water is relocating more than 200 trees from within the Havant Thicket Reservoir site and replanting them locally.
This is part of a joint initiative with environmental group, Havant Thicket for Nature, which aimed to preserve 80 young trees on site which would otherwise be felled. Thanks to the care taken during site clearance work last autumn, Portsmouth Water has exceeded this target and is now relocating more than 200 trees to create new habitats locally.
Portsmouth Water is carrying out extensive environmental work as part of the Havant Thicket Reservoir project. Although the reservoir will be around a mile long, and half a mile wide, the project will deliver a net gain to wildlife habitats. Its plans involve both onsite and offsite commitments that include planting and improving more than 200 hectares of woodland and wood pasture and creating a new wetland on the northern shore of the reservoir to support local bird species. In addition, the project will secure vital water resources for the South East and help protect the world-renowned chalk streams of the River Test and the River Itchen in Hampshire.