The Little Ouse Headwaters Project (LOHP) was set up in 2002 by local residents to promote conservation and enjoyment of the fenland habitats bordering the upper reaches of the

River Little Ouse The River Little Ouse is a river in the east of England, a tributary of the River Great Ouse. For much of its length it defines the boundary between Norfolk and Suffolk. It rises east of Thelnetham, close to the source of the River Waveney, wh ...

, which lies on the

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

border. The site lies between

Blo' Norton Blo' Norton is a village and civil parish in the Breckland district of Norfolk, England, on the River Little Ouse, about west of Diss. The 2001 Census recorded the parish population as 270 people, living in about 100 households. Early histo ...

in Norfolk and

Thelnetham Thelnetham is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. Located on the southern bank of the River Little Ouse (the Norfolk-Suffolk border), six miles west of Diss, in 2005 its population was 230. The ...

in Suffolk. It includes a number of areas including Hinderclay Fen, Blo' Norton Fen, Betty's Fen, The Frith, Blo' Norton Lowes, Blo' Norton Little Fen and Parker's Piece. The area also include parts of the

Blo' Norton and Thelnetham Fen Blo' Norton and Thelnetham Fens are a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) on the Norfolk/Suffolk border. Blo' Norton Fen is in the parish of Blo' Norton in Norfolk and Thelnetham Fen is in Thelnetham parish in Suffolk. It is a ...

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

(SSSI). The project is a registered charity and holds monthly work parties to manage the habitat of the various fens. The Little Ouse Headwaters Project won the CIWEM/RSPB Living Wetlands Award in 2006. Both the

River Waveney The River Waveney is a river which forms the boundary between Suffolk and Norfolk, England, for much of its length within The Broads. The "ey" part of the name means "river" thus the name is tautological. Course The source of the River Wavene ...

and the River Little Ouse have their sources at Redgrave Fen. The Waveney runs eastwards - forming the border between Norfolk and Suffolk - while the Little Ouse flows westwards and eventually joins the

River Great Ouse The River Great Ouse () is a river in England, the longest of several British rivers called "Ouse". From Syresham in Northamptonshire, the Great Ouse flows through Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk to drain into the Wa ...

at Denver Sluice.

The Project

The LOHP has won awards for its work as a conservation organisation. These include the prestigious Living Wetlands award, and Suffolk's 'greenest county' award for community action.

History

After the Second World War the course of the River Little Ouse was over-deepened which led to the drying-out of the surrounding fen and the conversion of much of the land to arable use.http://www.seenet.info/documents/Lessons/TENmaterials/The%20Little%20Ouse%20Headwaters.pdf The ending of traditional management practices and the lowering of the water table also led to increased dehydration which caused a decline in the bio-diversity of the area. The work carried out by the Little Ouse Headwaters Project has helped to reverse these effects.

References

External links

Little Ouse Headwaters Project
Environmental organisations based in England Geography of Norfolk Geography of Suffolk 2002 establishments in England {{England-org-stub

The Project

History

See also

References

External links