On 6 May we held a brilliant event celebrating the changes made to the Lower Hoopern Valley over the last two years.
The Valley has seen various uses in the past – we think once a pleasure walk with manmade waterfalls and weirs in Taddiforde Brook, then grazed by farm cattle before very limited management from 2015. The site is designated as a Devon County Wildlife site for its range of habitats.
Over the last two years the University has been enhancing this amazing asset after consultation with the local community. We ran two consultation events in May and November 2023, discussing our aims around biodiversity, increased community access, ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration and storage (aka planting trees) and as a research and education facility.
The aims were supported by the local community and we made some changes to the designs in response to the consultation, mainly improving access by surfacing some muddy areas of path and adding some nature-based flood management solutions in the Taddiforde Brook with project partners. We also designated a new public right of way in collaboration with Devon County Council and the local community.
To celebrate these works we used our new accessible path. We wanted to have a fun-filled family friendly celebration with chances to discuss nature and to thank people who have contributed so much to the Valley.
We had stalls from the Environment Agency, who have been working with us on the nature based flood management solutions, Devon Wildlife Trust who are the experts in this area and manage our near neighbour Belvedere Meadows as part of the Valley Parks.
Also Double Elephant ran a print workshop with found materials, Exeter student volunteers created a scavenger hunt, Friends of Hoopern Valley and our very own Sustainability team who had historic photos of the Valley, plus willow ball making, ID that tree and some child-sized buckets for mulching the new edge (although we think Emma from our team did most of it).
University colleagues were on hand to explain research and teaching happening in the Valley, and our Grounds team had a display of some of their meadow managing equipment. The Valley was officially opened by Professor Lisa Roberts, our Vice Chancellor and President and the Lord Mayor of Exeter, Councillor Kevin Mitchell, who both gave lovely speeches. David Evans, Head of Grounds, took three groups on tours throughout the afternoon – and by fortunate chance Exeter College were running a practical exercise for their students in the distance, demonstrating how the Valley is used as a community resource!
We had delicious food and drink from Event Exeter and music from Pigasus, the Exeter University student folk society band.
The weather was kind to us, so we had a good turnout of around 150 people and a great time was had, new connections made, plans for the future hatched and old friends met up. A wonderful way to celebrate a very special place! Thank you to all the people who made the project and the day, such a success!
Photos by Jim Wileman