Restoring the River Mimram, Tewin

Channel 1 year after restoration, note the reduction in channel width and diverse marginal and riparian vegetation

Salix were commissioned to restore part of the river Mimram whilst protecting the local population of water voles and increasing the biodiversity

Re-naturalising River Nairn

River Nairn wetlands restored

Salix worked on the River Nairn in an award winning project to renaturalise the river, allowing it to meander again and restoring river processes.

Naturalising a Stream at Bedlinog

Bedlinog post works with riffles and more natural flows

Constant flooding and erosion had been causing some serious problems for Merthyr Tydfil Council who manage an old reclaimed tip site, close to the village of Bedlinog in the Taff Bargoed Valley.

Conwy Spillway Success

Conwy overtopping winter 2015

In 2009 Team Van Oord installed 9000m2 of Salix’s VMax Shear Stress Turf as part of the Conwy Flood Alleviation Scheme, seven years and many major overtopping events on and it has stood the test well.

River Washburn Restoration

Spider Menzi Muck Excavator moving large woody debris below Swinsty Reservoir

Salix were approached as river restoration experts and because of the innovative Menzi Muck Spider machine which is capable of climbing in and out of a river causing little disturbance.

Coir Rolls Aid Biodiversity Boom

Selection Of Unplanted and Pre-Established 200mm and 300mm Coir Rolls

Our Coir Rolls are superb at erosion control and they are also brilliant for wildlife. Wildlife such as Water Voles benefit enormously from the immediate cover that the mature plants provide and also from the carefully thought out planting.

Cwmparc River Restoration

Spider machine at Cwmparc

Salix worked with Natural Resources Wales at Cwmparc in the Rhondda Valley to renaturalise the water courses in order to reduce flood risk and increase biodiversity.

River Dulais, Rhosmaen Llandeilo

Salix’s River Dulais project demonstrating the use of large woody debris (LWD) is now ten years old and has been is included in the manual of River Restoration Techniques.

Bridging the Ecological and Engineering Gap

Pre-established coir rolls and pallets

Bridging the ecological and engineering gap with our effective bio-engineering solutions

Turf Reinforcement Erosion Mats in CIWEM

VMax-C350-and-P550-erosion-control-in-CIWEM

Our Technical Director, David Holland, has been in the most recent edition of CIWEM’sThe Environment Magazine talking about the value of our 3D reinforced turf mats in erosion control.

The Spider on the River Washburn

Machine in action at Swinsty

Innovative spider machine helps restore wildlife habitats on the River Washburn. Yorkshire Water’s trial works to improve the quality of the river environment downstream of Swinsty reservoir is now well underway.

Rock Rolls – Effective Erosion Control

Rock rolls arrive in bundles with certified lifting straps

Rock Rolls offer flexibility and the fact they arrive on site pre-filled with stone greatly reduces installation time and therefore cost, compared to in-situ filled gabions. Rock rolls and mattresses can also be installed during live flow situations, which is not possible with standard gabions.

Slowing the flow at Cwmparc

Cwmparc and the spider in action

With funding from the Welsh Government’s Nature Fund, we supported Rhondda Cynon Taf Council in taking steps to naturalise one of the concrete channels which brings water down from the mountains at Cwmparc,

Restoring East Tullos Burn

Native plants, reed beds and pond at East Tullos

East Tullos Burn project transformed a waterway from a straight, hard-engineered channel, into a natural stream, functional floodplain and wetland habitat.

Naturalising Norfolk’s Chalk Rivers

Babingley river restoration work using woody debris

Salix has helped the Norfolk Rivers Trust to improve wildlife habitats on the chalk River Babingley, Hillington Estate near Flitcham, and River Nar at Pentney, near Kings Lynn.

Salix helps naturalise the chalk River Nar

Long Reach Excavators

Working with the Norfolk Rivers Trust and cbec, Salix has just completed a project to help to improve wildlife habitats on a section of the chalk River Nar in west Norfolk.

Sandwich Flood Alleviation and Spillway Scheme

Rock mattress tie in detail at hydraulic jump zone with Vmax C350

The £21.7 million flood defence scheme involved works on 16 individual reaches of the river and it reduced the risk of tidal flooding to 488 homes and 94 commercial properties in Sandwich. Client – Jackson Civil Engineering working on behalf of the Environment Agency.

Improving wildlife habitats on the Royal chalk River Babingley

Babingley chalk river restoration

With the help of Salix, the Norfolk Rivers Trust is improving fish and other river wildlife habitats on the River Babingley near Flitcham, one of only two hundred chalk rivers left in the world.

Salix Rock Rolls Protect Titchwell Marsh

Titchwell Marshes Rock Rolls close up

As part of a series of measures to protect the freshwater habitats at Titchwell Marsh Nature Reserve on the north Norfolk coast,

New wetland habitats at East Tullos Burn

East Tullos map

Salix has worked with Aberdeen City Council, cbec and Walking-the-Talk to restore the East Tullos Burn in St Fittick’s Park, Torry,

Salix is now Europe’s largest producer of coir fibre rolls

coconut husks

Working directly with ethical, organic and sustainable suppliers in Sri Lanka, each year Salix imports hundreds of tonnes of compressed coir fibres and turns them into Coir Rolls and Pallets at its Thetford nursery in Norfolk.

CocoNet 800

Coconet

Coconet800 is a robust and biodegradable erosion control system which is designed to provide immediate erosion protection to soils whilst allowing vegetation to grow. Coconet800 provides an excellent, cost-effective solution to limit erosion, increasing surface cover and roughness.

Darwen Bank Stabilisation

One Year Later. Note the Reed Canary Grass (Phalaris arundinacea)

A 120 metre reach of river had been subject to ongoing bank instability issues. A gas pipeline set in the bank was dangerously close to being exposed and bank revetment options were considered.

River Rhiw Bank Protection

River Rhiw Bank Protection

Salix were awarded the contract and began works to carry out 300 metres of riverbank protection to protect this existing exposed high pressure gas pipe in March 2013.

Olympic Park Wetlands

Olympic Park

Salix were involved in making the Olympic Park a reality, when we were awarded the prestigious Tier 2 Contract in 2009 to grow all the wetland and wet wildflower plants…

Coir Pallets

Purple Loosestrife flowering within pre-established coir pallets at Salix nursery

Salix produce a wide range of pre-established coir pallets planted with high quality native plant species. Coir pallets are composed from coir fibre which is a sustainable waste product from the husk of the coconut shell.

Coir Rolls

Selection Of Unplanted and Pre-Established 200mm and 300mm Coir Rolls

Coir Rolls are an organic living revetment that provide erosion control and rapid vegetation establishment. Salix have developed a range of specific species mixes for use in all types of water bodies.

Bionet C125BN

Bionet C125BN 100% Biodegradable blanket

Bionet biodegradable erosion control blankets are designed to provide immediate erosion protection and vegetation establishment assistance, then degrade after the root and stem systems of the vegetation are mature enough to permanently stabilise the underlying soil.

VMax³ Shear Stress Turf

Salix have the facilities to contract grow turf using the VMax3 range of  Turf Reinforcement Mats

Salix have the facilities to contract grow turf using the VMax range of Turf Reinforcement Mats (TRMs). VMax C350 or P550 is used as the reinforcement element within the turf giving unprecedented scour protection performance.

VMax³ P550

VMax P550 On Reinforced River Bank

VMax³ P550 is composed of a permanent, ultra-high-strength, three-dimensional matting structure incorporated with a permanent 100% polypropylene fibre matrix.

VMax³ C350

VmaxC350

VmaxC350 is a permanent Turf Reinforcement for reinforcing soils. The VmaxC350 incorporates a coir fibre layer to provide instant erosion protection, whilst the three-dimensional grid provides significant long-term protection.

Sandwich Flood Alleviation Scheme

Rock mattress tie in detail at hydraulic jump zone with Vmax C350


The £21.7 million flood defence scheme involves works on 16 individual reaches of the River Stour and will reduce the risk of tidal flooding to 488 homes and 94 commercial properties in Sandwich.

Roadwater Erosion Protection

rock rolls lifted into place

The River Washford runs through the village of Roadwater near Minehead, Somerset. The catchment creates a flashy river which floods parts of the village in large flood events.

BioHaven Innovation

floating island wetlands

Wetlands are an incredibly valuable environment, both to nature and wider society; BioHaven can offer all of the ecosystem services of a healthy functioning wetland but can be placed in an area where it would be impossible to put a constructed or conventional wetland.

10th Anniversary River Dulais Project

Living-Root-Wad-Revetment

Tenth Anniversary of Salix’s Project on The River Dulais, Rhosmaen, Llandeilo.

Salix’s River Dulais project demonstrating the use of large woody debris (LWD) is now ten years old and we are delighted to announce that this ground breaking project has been included in the River Restoration Centre (RRC) Manual of Techniques.

Rock’n’Roll!

Rock rolls arrive in bundles with certified lifting straps

Rock Rolls are a robust, flexible and permanent revetment for use around reservoirs, shorelines, lake edges,

Salix appointed Sole UK Distributor for VMax Soil Erosion Range

Installing-VMax-P550-Turf-on-the-Teme

Salix are pleased to announce that We have been appointed as the sole distributors of the VMax® range of soil erosion control products formerly known as North American Green.

Tough Test on The Teme

River Teme 4 machines placing fill

The River Teme is a sensitive SSSI and SAC river and over 150 metres of severe bank erosion was threatening a National Grid pipeline.

Better Banks!

Lewes in Aug 2015

The Environment Agency are responsible for the river bank stability at Railway Lane, Lewes and recognising the integrity of the existing blockwork facing was deteriorating began to look into solutions to this challenge.

Spillways Surge Ahead!

B5106 looking towards Llanrwst floods

Salix have extensive experience of spillway protection offering advice to engineers involved in this area of expertise.

Our VMax range of Composite Turf Reinforcement Mats (CTRMs) including VMax C350,

River Pinn Enhancement

River restoration works

Salix designed and constructed a stream enhancement project at a gas pipeline river crossing as ecological mitigation to a degraded reach of stream as part of a major pipeline project.

River Thaw Enhancement

Salix were asked by Environment Agency Wales to advise on methods to restore a 100 metre reach of the River Thaw which had been subject to physical degradation by overgrazing and cattle poaching.

Conwy Flood Alleviation and Spillway Scheme

Spillway

Salix supplied 9000m2 of VMax3 Shear stress turf in September 2009. Just 2 months later the area experienced the worst flooding in 25 years of recording with floods exceeding the 1:30 year events of 2004/2005.

River Ebbw Bank Stabilisation

River restoration

Salix worked with consulting geotechnical engineers to provide design and build proposals to stabilise over 800 metres of steep riverbank composed of highly erodible colliery shale.

River Gwenfro

Fully Established Bioengineering Solution Replacing Gabion Design

A private developer had back gardens adjacent to a river that when in flood created severe scour issues. Initial river modelling indicated flow velocities in excess of 3.5m/sec.

River Pipeline Crossing

Salix were invited to submit a bioengineering solution to solve an erosion issue at a pipeline crossing in West Wales. The solution used a combination of locally harvested willow and Rock Rolls to provide a stable revetment in this cobble bed river.

River Roding Bank Protection

Vegetation Establishment 18 Months Later

Salix advised engineers Halcrow on bioengineering methods to stabilise a regraded slope as part of an inter-tidal river enhancement project. The existing vertical retaining wall provided no habitat value.

River Roding Enhancement

Training day on intertidal restoration work

The River Roding is an inter-tidal river and these works were undertaken 100m upstream of the Barking Barrier, Greater London. The works were part of an Environment Agency environmental enhancement project with both flood defence and nature conservation in mind.

Pre-filled Rock Roll

Rock rolls provide an instant flexible solution to many scour problems

Rock Rolls are a robust and permanent revetment for use around reservoirs, shorelines, lake edges, streams and river banks. They are cost-effective revetments that are suitable alternatives to rock rip rap and gabions in many scour applications.

Pre-filled Rock Mattresses

Rock Mattress installed Lockwood Reservoir with built in lifting strops

Rock Mattresses are a robust and permanent revetment for use around reservoirs, shorelines, lake edges, streams and river banks. They are cost-effective revetments that are suitable alternatives to rock rip rap and gabions…

Kelham Island Goit

Kelham Goit

Salix were contracted by Mansell construction to dredge the contaminated Goit forming Kelham Island and working closely with ecologists ECUS to create marginal habitat.

Water Vole Habitat Works

channel-1-year-after-restoration

Salix successfully tendered for a pilot project to improve marginal vegetation along the River Wandle. The project formed part of a wider scheme to reintroduce water vole to the river.

Soham Lode Re-visited

important water vole site

An important water vole site at Soham Lode required emergency re-lining of the perched section of the reach (approximately 600m) Following the emergency works, Salix were awarded a Design & Build contract on a competitive bid process…

River Tywi

River Tywi Pipeline Protection

Salix were awarded a design and build contract to prevent further erosion of a section of the riverbank and reinstate a scour hole threatening a high pressure gas pipeline on the River Tywi.

Live Willow Revetments

Live Willow Revetments

Living willow has been used as a method of controlling riverbank erosion for centuries. Salix employ traditional techniques and more modern approaches based upon the site specific erosion process.

Brushwood faggot/fascine

Brushwood Faggots

Salix produce a range of brushwood faggots (fascines) for use in rivers, canals and lakes. We use brushwood from sustainable sources and can supply various timber types including Ash, Hazel and Willow.

Railway Lane, Lewes

Before work commenced railway line Lewes

The integrity of the existing blockwork facing was deteriorating as a result of the tidal inundation and draw-down cycles together with areas of groundwater seepages emanating from the slope profile.

River Teme Restoration

River Teme Restoration

The River Teme is a sensitive SSSI and SAC river and over 150 metres of severe bank erosion was threatening a National Grid pipeline.