Conservation volunteers are an essential part of the UKs efforts to restore and protect the natural environment.

Our amazing Canterbury volunteers have spent the last 3 task days creating river bankside revetments to reduce erosion in a very urban and busy area.

These works involved untreated chestnut logs, untreated chestnut stakes and biodegradable coir matting. Historically, urban revetments have been made out of concrete or steel.This concrete and steel removes natural habitat.

Rivers naturally move, erode banksides and have lots of vegetation and floodplains.

Our revetments will not last forever because they are biodegradable, but they will last many years and slow down the erosion and increase habitat.

Tall vegetation on riverbanks is vital to prevent erosion and filter surface run off from urban areas, full of pollution. Heavy human footfall, where these works have happened, reduces the ability of the banksides to grow the necessary vegetation. The coir matting will help to encourage growth by protecting the soil from compaction and erosion.