A three year research project, funded by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and managed through Anglia Ruskin University, is currently underway studying the vegetation and eco-hydrology at two substantial wetland restoration sites; the Great Fen in Huntingdonshire and the Wicken Vision in Cambridgeshire. Both restoration projects have already acquired large areas of land, and in time the restoration sites aim to convert a combined 7,000 hectares (about 3,500 ha each) over to wetland habitats. The vast scale of such projects leads to particular challenges when it comes to examining the vegetation present and attempting to predict vegetation change under a variety of management regimes and natural processes.

A monitoring protocol is currently being developed through the research project with the aim of achieving a readily repeatable vegetation survey of the restoration land. However, due to the potentially vast area of land to be monitored and the amount of time and resources available during the surveying season, it is inevitable that some areas of the restoration land will not fall within the representative areas selected for long term study.

With this in mind, it would be very useful to hear of any plant records the intrepid local botanist may come across whilst meandering along the public footpaths and access routes which criss-cross the restoration land. The plant does not have to be unusual or rare; all records will help to construct a picture of the ongoing restoration process and will be gratefully received.

If you are an enthusiastic amateur botanist and would like to be involved in either long-term vegetation recording or ad-hoc recording of species across the restoration land, I would be very pleased to hear from you. For the ad-hoc recording, all that is required is a species name, date found, location (6 figure grid reference would be ideal), an estimate of population size and a description of the habitat in which the species occurs. A recording sheet will be available on request which will detail the information required, together with a list of a few of the species which you may expect to see on your travels. I am also happy to receive digital images of plants if identification is in doubt.