This earthcache brings you to Woodrolfe Creek, one of the safest places to see salt marshes in Essex. Looking out at the marsh you will see various paths allowing boat owners to get to their vessels that are moored on the creek.
Salt marshes and their fronting mudflats are one of the few natural wilderness areas left in the UK. Salt Marsh is a coastal ecosystem between land and open salt or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. They are formed by silt and mud being deposited in sheltered locations and colonised by salt-tolerant plants such as herbs, grasses or low shrubs. These plants are terrestrial in origin and are essential to the survival of the salt marsh in trapping and binding sediments. Salt Marshes play a large role in the aquatic food web and the delivery of nutrients to coastal waters. They also support animals and provide much needed coastal protection. The surface area of the marsh is a system of drainage channels also known as creeks and is often pitted with pools of water known as salt pans. Essex is especially important for this habitat, as the Essex coast has a larger area of salt marsh than any other county.
The diagram below shows the layers that make up the salt marsh.
The development of a salt marsh is susceptible to changes, the diagram below shows the factors.
Radiocarbon dating (this is a method of determining the age of object that contains organic material) has confirmed that the saltmarsh at Tollesbury is 5000 years old. The study concluded that the saltmarsh has been at a constant growth of 1.5mm per year.
Tasks to Complete
To log this cache, please complete the tasks below using the information above and your observations at ground zero. Please email your answers to us via our profile page. You can log your find once you have sent the email, there is no need to wait for a reply.
1. What time of the day did you visit? Was the tide in or out? Estimate the height of the exposed bank of the salt marsh at this point?
2.Looking at the salt marsh in more detail, can you describe the colour and texture of the soil?
3.Describe the plants that you can see on the salt marsh, what do you think the plants could be?
4.Looking at the information board, how many berths and pontoons does Tollesbury Marina have?
5. As an optional extra, post a picture of yourself or your GPS with the creek in the background, as it would be lovely to see how the creek changes throughout the seasons.