Restoring the Riverbank at Inverharroch

Visitors to our Discovery Trail may notice there have been a few changes on the banks of the River Deveron just downstream from our Nature Hide.

Since November last year, along with a brilliant team of partners and volunteers, we’ve been working to strengthen and protect the riverbank after it was severely eroded by heavy rainfall in 2023. 

As we know so well, we have no shortage of weather in The Cabrach and mother nature can be ferocious, so we were challenged to tackle the problem in a way that was sensitive to The Cabrach’s fragile natural environment, whilst being sufficiently robust to weather the extremes we can experience here. Piles of rocks or concrete reinforcements were out of the question, so alternative options were explored, conversations were had, and we decided on creating a living wall of willow. 

Willow Spiling

The name for the technique used was willow spiling which involves weaving lengths of freshly harvested willow between timber posts driven into the riverbed. Thereafter, brash, leftover branches, and twigs are then backfilled in behind the willow wall. All combined, this technique allows river debris and sediment to slowly, naturally accumulate as the river flows by, rebuilding the riverbank season after season. 

There are lots of brilliant benefits to the process. For a start, unlike rocks that sometimes get washed away, willow spiling gets stronger rather than weaker as it grows and becomes more established. The living wall also provides an important, strengthened riparian habitat for wildlife, alongside increased shade for the river which is important for underwater ecology and fish health. So next time you’re on the Discovery Trail, look out for Wild Atlantic Salmon catching a break from the sun.

Our riverbank restoration works started back in November. We then took a break across the worst of the winter when the river was too high, and the water too cold, before completing the project in early Spring. 

But none of this would have been possible without the help of our wonderful volunteers and partners. As such, we’re sharing a huge thanks to our friends and colleagues from the EDF Dorenell Ranger Service, The River Deveron Charitable Trust, The Atlantic Salmon Trust, and Highlands Rewilding. Further, the willow used was grown and harvested by Naturally Useful, a social enterprise based near Forres who also work closely with the Trust in support of our Rural Skills programme. 

Now that the project has been completed along 60 metres of the riverbank, we’ve been led to believe that we’ve inadvertently created the longest stretch of willow spiling riverbank restoration in the UK!  Although we’re still working to corroborate such an unexpected (potential) accolade, our hope is that over the years to come you’ll see a massive difference as the willow grows up and forms a new, robust riverbank, alive with wildlife. 

We also hope that by building our living wall, alongside our broader commitment to nature recovery activities at Inverharroch, custodians of other rivers may take a look at what we’ve been doing in The Cabrach and garner important learning in support of their own work to protect, enhance, and restore river systems across Scotland and beyond. 

For The Cabrach Trust, our work to regenerate The Cabrach is complex ranging from community building and wellbeing initiatives to nature recovery projects to the creation of local employment opportunities and visitor infrastructure. So whether The Cabrach Distillery or a “record breaking” willow spiling riverbank restoration project, we’re working hard to restore community and nature prosperity in The Cabrach, both now and for generations to come.