Rare fern goes back to canal roots

DR Gough with Canal & River Trust officials and Street Scene Greenfield volunteers

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A RARE plant that was rescued from the Huddersfield Canal has bloomed nicely over the years ­- but now it is time for it to take root in its old home.

Staff and volunteers from the Canal & River Trust charity returned the rare Royal Fern to the Huddersfield Narrow Canal for the first time in 25 years.

The plant, believed to be the canal's only surviving Royal Fern specimen, was saved in 1992 when the canal was undergoing major restoration work by Huddersfield Canal Society in preparation for its reopening in 2001.

The only surviving specimen has been kept alive by ecologist Dr Bob Gough in a plant pot in his backyard since 1992.

Dr Gough noticed the Royal Fern, the Osmundia regalis, had been discarded during the excavation works and managed to scoop up the plant from the water.

He took it home to his terraced house in Failsworth and has carefully nurtured it for the last 25 years.

Dr Gough said: "I'm so pleased to be able to return this Royal Fern back where it should be - by the canal. It's a very graceful plant and I sincerely hopes it manages to take root in its new home.

"Keeping it alive in a simple plant pot through more than two decades of summer droughts and cold snowy winters has been a labour of love. There were several moments when I thought I might have lost it, but each time the plant has recovered and it's currently thriving. It will be wonderful to see it by water again."

A few weeks ago Tom King, ecologist with the Canal & River Trust charity, which now cares for the Huddersfield Narrow Canal, heard about the rare Royal Fern and invited Dr Gough to return the plant to its natural home.

Mr King said: "Dr Bob Gough has done an amazing job to keep alive this Royal Fern. It was only a chance conversation that led me to even know about its existence.

Protected

"There are currently no other known examples of Royal Ferns on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal. Six miles of the canal are protected as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) so it is fantastic to return one of the original plants back to the canal bank.

"Royal Ferns like damp, humid, conditions, so we are constructing a special bankside planter to give it the best chance to establish a new colony in Mossley.

"We are pleased to be joined by volunteers to help with the job and are looking for more volunteers to assist us in a wide range of tasks towards improving the fragile biodiversity on this special canal."

The re-planting of the Royal Fern is part of the Canal & River Trust's wider 12-month project, Making Special Places for Nature, funded by a £350,000 award from players of the People's Postcode Lottery. This involves improving vulnerable wildlife waterway habitats across 10 key sites totalling 400 hectares.

The project spans reservoirs and canals in Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Greater Manchester, Shropshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire, Berkshire and mid Wales, and will benefit water shrews, voles, otters, bats, dragonflies and other rare fauna and flora.

The Trust, which cares for 2,000 miles of canals and 63 Sites of Special Scientific Interest, is appealing to volunteers to join it in this mammoth task .

Tasks involve a wide range of habitat protection work including bank restoration, shade removal and improvements in water quality. The project will also assess the health and populations of various rare species including the shy water shrew, which was last subject to a national survey more than a decade ago.

For volunteer work email james.wynn@canalrivertrust.org.uk or phone 07786 661614. www.canalrivertrust.org.uk.