LESSONS learned about ecological riverside restoration on the banks of the Tweed will be shared with an international audience in Estonia.

Project officers Hamish Robertson and Emily Iles, from Tweed Forum, will share their expertise at the SER European (SERE) Conference on Ecological Restoration in the eastern city of Tartu next week.

They will inform delegates about the riparian tree-planting and invasive species control work they are undertaking as part of the LIFE Wader project.

People from 37 different countries will discuss how to restore nature, protect biodiversity and adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change.

Emily will highlight Tweed Forum’s successes in recent biological control trials to tackle Himalayan balsam.

She will also discuss long-term catchment-wide control programmes and the benefits of partnership working and stakeholder engagement.

Hamish will explain how Tweed Forum’s targeted riverside tree-planting is helping to improve water quality in the River Tweed catchment, which is a Special Area of Conservation and Site of Special Scientific Interest.

More than 64 hectares of native woodland are due to be planted as part of the LIFE Wader initiative.  

Tweed Forum CEO Luke Comins said: “We have more than 30 years’ experience of working at the heart of land and water across the Tweed catchment.  

“We’ve learned much about the most effective ways to help address a range of issues from river restoration and woodland creation to natural flood management and peatland restoration, as well as the invasive species control and water quality improvement measures that Emily and Hamish will be discussing at the SERE conference.  

“We’re delighted to be able to share that knowledge with researchers, practitioners and policy makers across Europe as we all seek to reverse biodiversity decline and develop resilient ecosystems for the future.”

The five-year LIFE Wader initiative aims to improve river, intertidal and marine habitats across the 5,000 km² Tweed catchment and along the north Northumberland coast.

It is a partnership between Tweed Forum, Natural England, the Environment Agency and Newcastle University.