South East Rivers Trust were lucky enough to meet their all-time hero Sir David Attenborough during the launch event of a documentary about Richmond Park, broadcast on London Live Wednesday 26th April. Presented and narrated by Sir David Attenborough, the film, commissioned by Friends of Richmond Park, documents the largest of London’s parks, Richmond Park. The film features the Beverley Brook, which stretches for two kilometres through the Park. It was historically straightened and dredged for drainage and consequently, important wildlife habitats were destroyed. The South East Rivers Trust have been working intensively on the Brook for the past couple of years to restore the Brook to a more natural state primarily using natural processes. Work undertaken has included fencing over 600m of the channel to prevent deer access, erection of river gates, the introduction of significant quantities of Large Woody Material (LWM), channel narrowing, introduction of meanders, bank regarding, the creation of fish refuges and an access point. Volunteers helped with planting of marginal plants and trees. A further component of the project addressed urban diffuse pollution entering into the Brook from a surface water fed tributary with the creation of a sediment trap and 850m2 wetland. This has been a collaborative project between the South East Rivers Trust, Environment Agency, The Royal Parks and the Friends of Richmond Park. Bella Davies, Trust Director at South East Rivers Trust, said: “By restoring the Brook we will be supporting essential aquatic life. Since work began on the Brook we have already seen significant numbers of fish and varied plant communities return to the previously uniform channel. An exciting opportunity has recently arisen to continue to enhance the Brook with more water quality improvement measures” The film will be repeated on London Live (Freeview channel 8) on Sunday 30th April at 11.30am, or you can view it below, through the Friends of Richmond Park website, the special film website, or directly on YouTube. Visit the South East Rivers Trust website to read more about Beverley Brook and other river restoration work they’ve been doing across South East England.