Home | Recovering the Deben from Source to Sea

Recovering the Deben: From Source to Sea is an ambitious project that aims to restore the land, water, and nature throughout the River Deben catchment and estuary.

Our vision is to recover the River Deben for people to love and wildlife to thrive

Tide Mill at Woodbridge reflected in the calm waters of the River Deben at sunset

Aerial view of the River Deben at Woodbridge, showing boats, marshes, and the town on a sunny day

Close-up of a kingfisher perched on a branch above water

DISCOVER RECOVERING THE DEBEN

Find out how the project began, who’s involved, and how we’re working together to restore the river Deben from source to sea.

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OUR LATEST PROJECT NEWS AND UPDATES

APRIL 2026 - Deben Climate Centre Share April Environment Monitoring Results

Deben Climate Centre volunteers and team members took to the catchment on Tuesday 7th April for their environmental monitoring. This session was accompanied by some sunny and warm weather, similar to March's data collection.

River levels were found to be relatively low for the time of year, considering the lower levels of rain in recent weeks.

Click on the title of this article, or the "Read more" button for the full article on the Deben Climate Centre's website - Read more

APRIL 2026 - River Deben breach at the Ufford Hole creates biodiversity and river flow crisis

The 400-year old Hawkeswade Bridge and nearby Ufford Hole on the River Deben have been a popular spot for walkers and for wild swimmers for many years. Residents of Ufford awoke on Monday this week to find a small breach in the weir with water levels falling rapidly, draining the Hole and lowering river levels on both sides of the bridge.

Click on the title of this article, or the "Read more" button for the full article. - Read more

WHAT'S ON
Events and dates of note for the Deben catchment

Wednesday 6th May - Recovering the Deben: From Source to Sea Working Group

Partners included in the working group for the Recovering The Deben: From Source to Sea project will be meeting today to discuss project updates, including an overview, the individual work streams and the action plan. The second working group of 2026 will help to set the tone for the goals of this project for the second half of the year.

See all events associated with Recovering the Deben on our calendar.

Sunday 10th May - Debenham Green Team Dawn Chorus with Mike Challis

An opportunity to listen to the dawn chorus of resident birds at Hoppit Wood. Meeting and 4.10am to sit and listen to the sounds of the area with local bird expert Mile Challis. For more details visit the Debenham Green Team website here.

See all events associated with Recovering the Deben or in the Deben catchment on our calendar.

Find out more about the above and other future events here

Calendar

PROJECT THEMES

Recovering the Deben from Source to Sea is a large landscape-scale project that includes five key areas of work. Each of the sections below represents a different focus area - click to explore how we’re restoring natural edges to riverbanks, improving water quality, rebuilding habitat connectivity, utilising natural flood management (NFM) and promoting the value of the river and the water within it.