Leny Burn Riparian Restoration Project by Kyle Hind

In December 2019 the Forth Rivers Trust worked with Callander’s Landscape, the Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park and was funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund Scotland to create a more environmentally rich river system on the Leny Burn near Kilmahog.

The Leny Burn at Killmahog is subject to riverbank erosion and increased run off as a result of the livestock having direct access to the river. Livestock has caused erosion directly through trampling and they also add unwanted nutrients to the water from their waste. High grazing rates on river side fields can compact the soil creating a higher percentage of surface water runoff as well. Higher rates of run off can increase the stilt in the river which is damaging to aquatic life as it smothers invertebrates, fish and their eggs. Reducing surface runoff requires buffer zones to be created between the river and the livestock.

To limit the impact on the river, the Forth Rivers Trust has worked together with the landowner (Drumardoch Estate) to exclude the access that livestock have to the riverbank. This is being achieved by installing around 800m of livestock fencing in the fields where impacts of poaching are the most significant. Thanks to the fencing contractors (MGB Fencing), livestock access to the riverbank has been excluded.

This should result in vegetation in these areas re-establishing helping to stabilise riverbanks, and over hanging vegetation will provide food and shelter for young fish. To make the most of the protection provided by the fence 200 trees were planted beside the river to further improve vegetation regeneration. The planting will include a mixture of native broadleaf trees adapted to riparian environments such as Alder, Birch, Aspen and Rowan. These trees are protected from livestock and deer allowing them to grow and provide habitats to both terrestrial and aquatic species. The trees where planted over 2 days using volunteers from the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park. In addition to the fence tree guards where put around each tree to ensure an extra level of protection.

This project will allow the Leny Burn to revert to a more natural state with natural vegetation holding together the riverbanks, limiting surface runoff and providing better habitats to species in the area.