People have enjoyed the Back Burn for many generations - but human presence has taken a toll. The watercourse has a poor ecological status, according to SEPA’s Water Classification Hub. This is largely driven by man-made changes in the landscape.

💧 Modifying and straightening the river for farming has disconnected the river from its floodplain and prevented it from flowing and shifting naturally.

💧 Physical changes like weirs, dams and concrete banking have further constrained its morphology and affected migratory fish.

💧 The burn’s water quality has also declined for multiple reasons, like industry, farming and human habitation.

💧 Meanwhile, the distribution of Invasive Non-Native Species has spread. Plants such as Himalayan Balsam and Giant Hogweed use the watercourse as a highway to spread their seeds, crowding out native plants that naturally grow alongside the burn.

The Back Burn is not alone in its plight - unfortunately a similar story could be told for many rivers in Scotland.

But the fantastic news is that over the last few years, the Back Burn Restoration project has been giving the river a helping hand.

Read on tomorrow to find out more about the exciting developments there.
https://fifecoastandcountrysidetrust.co.uk/.../river.../

📸 Pictures before the river restoration project at Coul Den last year.

#riverrestoration #CoulDen #habitat #naturerestoration #climateaction #fish #wildlife #streams #burns #loveFife #WorldRiversDay

Continuing our deep dive into the Back Burn for #WorldRiversDay...

People have lived near the Back Burn for thousands of years. Neolithic artefacts have been found in the Balfarg area dating up to 4,900 years old, and there were hillfort communities living on the Lomond hills (where the burn originates) during the Iron Age.

During these times, people may have used the burn for water and food, and it may have been important to their sense of place, identity and spirituality.

The land surrounding the burn was very marshy (the local place name ‘Balbirnie’ means ‘farm of the damp place’), so eventually people started draining land and shifting watercourses into straighter lines to create more space for farming.

The earliest Ordnance Survey maps show sections of the burn that are already altered and unnaturally straight. This suggests these modifications for farming (for water and to drain rainfall) may have taken place centuries ago.

Other local industries also used the burn for water, like the John Haig & Co whisky distillery. Coul Reservoir was built around 1900, and sluice gates and weirs were installed to control the flow of water to the distillery. The blue sluice gate above the reservoir can still be seen, a remnant of these operations (see our before and after river restoration pictures).

In the 18th and 19th century, Balbirnie estate parkland was re-designed and the burn modified to provide picturesque views. The addition of weirs created waterfall features, and hard banking was added to contain the water within its channel. The burn provided scenic value to visitors and continues to do so today.

#Markinch #CoulReservoir #BackBurn #riverrestoration #nature #wildlife #history #heritage #industry #whisky #loveFife