The Fens - some updates

 This year, we've been revisiting quite a few of the units which we've taught for a few years.

Natural England have a website which shows the different National Character Areas (NCAs)

The Fens are number 46.

Description from the site:

"....a distinctive, historic and human-influenced wetland landscape lying to the west of the Wash estuary, which formerly constituted the largest wetland area in England. The area is notable for its large-scale, flat, open landscape with extensive vistas to level horizons. The level, open topography shapes the impression of huge skies which convey a strong sense of place, tranquillity and inspiration. One per cent of the NCA falls within the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty."

There's an interactive map to view, showing the outline of the Fens region.

In terms of farming:

There are over 4,000 farms in the Fens; enough wheat is grown here annually to produce a quarter of a million loaves of bread and one million tons of potatoes are grown here. In addition to traditional vegetables, exotics such as pak choi are now cultivated. Some 40 per cent of England’s bulbs and flowers are also produced in the Fens.

I also came across this excellent black and white image via Facebook as well, showing the flooded Fens as they used to be: a wild place, but one watched over by the bulk of Ely's fabulous Cathedral.

Managing flood risk in the Fens

We have a unit for Year 7 called 'Landscapes shaped by Water'...

The Fens have a number of boards and committees that are involved in the running of the various drainage schemes.

One of them is called the Middle Level Commissioners.

They have recently launched a YouTube channel, and it includes a series of videos on their work.

Here's their work on Managing Flooding explained in an animation.