Wilder Humber
Restoring Humber habitats and biodiversity
Wilder Humber is a five-year programme to restore marine habitats and species throughout the Humber estuary delivered through a pioneering conservation partnership between Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, and international green energy leader Ørsted.
Sian collecting seagrass seeds for the Wilder Humber project. Image credit: Jasmine Brown
This flagship project will invest more than £2.5m to restore parts of the Humber on an ambitious scale not seen before through the planting of saltmarsh and seagrass, and the introduction of half a million native oysters to create a biogenic reef. It will build on an ambitious programme of seagrass restoration work already underway between Ørsted ’s Hornsea 4 project and Yorkshire Wildlife Trust.
During the first phase of the project, seagrass seeds will be planted in the estuary to provide vital shelter and a nursery ground for a variety of fish. The release of 500,000 native oysters will enable biogenic reefs to form, in turn providing critical habitat for multiple species whilst also filtering and improving estuary water quality. Where 95% of native oyster reefs have disappeared from the Humber since the early 1900’s, this project will start to rebalance biodiversity in this area. Through this project Ørsted has also committed to planting and restoring of saltmarsh plants, providing nutrient rich habitats, ideal for wading birds. The habitats created by these three vital species will nourish and protect the native wildlife of the Humber.
