Water
Every Garden will have a pond. The water for these ponds needs to come from somewhere.
Although rain could fill up the garden ponds, it would be better to have a larger reservoir of water at the top of each field, so that we can keep the ponds filled with water in dry spells. This means we should create a reservoir by each of the fields where we will plant Gardens.
The reservoirs will have streams leading to the gardens, then through the gardens down the hill, finally ending up at bottom of the valley, where stream or river will take it away.
The plan is to use the water in as many gardens as practical before it ends up in the river.
The reservoirs or lakes can be used for growing water plants and fish, as well as for recreation.
It would be best to choose a different use per lake so that there is one for fishing, for swimming, and one for rowing for instance.
It would also be good to create a wetland area in the valley.
Wetland areas are a haven for wild birds, frogs and newts, fish, insects and other animals. They offer niches for many plant species, some of which are edible. As the land near the river will often be quite wet already, this is a beautiful way to extend the rivers influence. We can also plant willows, alder and other wetland trees there, in small groups, increasing the diversity of habitats for wild animals.