Mersey Basin Campaign Blog

Calling all planners!

Climate change is already happening - but how can we deal with it?

The next ENMaR (European Network of Municipalities and Rivers) seminar will be looking at how we can cope with the impact of climate change (especially its effect on water) through planning. The seminar's taking place in Manchester on 25th May, and everyone is welcome - particularly planners.

Find out more about the ENMaR project, and the seminar at our webpage.....

Cleaning up the Hautapu

We've just had a message from Michael, a blogger from New Zealand, who is documenting his and his friends' campaign to clean up their local river, the Hautapu. Michael's from the small town of Taihape, which according to Wikipedia is the Gumboot Capital of the world - home of World Gumboot Day. Check out the project's blog to find out how they're getting on with their clean up - good luck everyone!

The Mend of the World is Near!

The 35th annual World Environment is fast approaching!

The Environment Agency are working hard to get businesses involved with this years World Environment Day on 5th June. The aim of the campaign is to find out what businesses are doing to combat climate change, and understand what is stopping them from doing more.

So, calling all businesses who happen upon this blog post, all you have to do is answer three questions! Visit the Mend of the World website to find out more and to answer the all important questions www.mendoftheworld.org

Greater Manchester Waters Forum Questions

 

This year's Greater Manchester Waters Forum is taking place on Wednesday 30th May at Manchester Town Hall. Find out more on our website.

If you're coming to the forum and would like to ask a question during the "Questions to Speakers" session, please feel free to leave one as a comment on this post - we'll collect these and bring them along on the day. Click 'comments' below to add a question.

You'll be welcome to ask further questions at the forum, once you've heard the presentations.

Volunteering: Get Dirty at Birch Green

Calling all volunteers and people who don't mind getting dirty outdoors!

Join us in a bid to rid Westheads Clough of bikes, bottles and beds. This clough is in serious need of a clean up and we need your help!

Click on the poster below or here for more information.

mbc blog makes friends in high places...

Just a quick post to note that this blog received some very positive feedback from Guardian Northern correspondent Helen Carter at an event in Manchester last night - thanks Helen, it's great to find out who's reading our blog - and it's always good to hear what you make of it. See what media blog PR in a Jar thought about the evening here.....

If you've got any comments / suggestions / constructive criticism about this blog, don't hesitate to let us know. That's what makes the blogging world go round........

Is Big Brother in your nest?

Forget the battling Duckies of Weatherfield, a new couple is taking over the Manchester soap scene this week - a pair of peregrine falcons who are nesting at a top-secret location in the city centre - dubbed Featherfield by the M.E.N. Starting yesterday, images from the nest are being beamed onto the BBC Big Screen in Exchange Square every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday between 11am and 6pm.

Luckily for the non-ornithologically minded, experts from the RSPB are on hand in the square to explain what's going on. Hopefully later in the summer we'll be able to see the couple's offspring hatch and fly the nest - let's hope they're less trouble than that Terry Duckworth.

The soap's all part of the RSPB's Aren't Birds Brilliant initiative, a series of projects giving you the chance to see some of the UK's most exciting birds. Thanks to Lesley from Action Ribble Estuary, I've found this information about the project in that area, too.

Fortunately for the soft-hearted, romantic Mancunian viewers, our city centre falcons are very much an item, but spare a thought for Albert, a lovesick Albatross who's spent the past forty years fruitlessly searching for a mate on a Scottish island miles from his natural habitat. If you can bear to read the heartrending story, visit the BBC's site.

Perhaps Albert will soon be following in the soapy talon-prints of our own a-list birds, maybe with a groundbreaking new series of 'Celebrity Love Island'? 

blogs can be beautiful...

Just thought I'd draw your attention to a lovely little site that shows your website / blog site map as a graph. Thanks to the blog 'Mmm, pretty' for the tip.

Here's our website, and this blog:

porpoiseful....

Thanks to Alan and friends, who have emailed to let us know that they spotted a porpoise swimming out with the tide near Mariner's Wharf on Saturday. Any other interesting sightings, drop us a line at [email protected] or leave a comment on this blog.

the last interview

Well, it was the end of an era last week, I headed out to Preston to record the last of the Mersey People interviews for Mersey: The river that changed the world. But it was a good one to bow out with. I spoke to Shanthi Rasaratnam, former Programme Manager at United Utilities, and the man behind several large scale projects that have had a major impact on the quality of the River Mersey. Shanthi was the man behind a massive improvement programme at five wastewater treatment works on the banks of the river during the late 1990s. He also led a team that developed a revolutionary technique for making sludge, a by-product of wastewater treatment, safe for use as an agricultural nutrient. Just as his career was drawing to a close in 2003, he was awarded the MBE for services to the water industry, and visited Buckingham Palace, where he had the chance to meet HM the Queen and explain to her about the scale of the clean-up on the Mersey.

Now that all the recording is completed, and I've produced the text for the Mersey People section of our book, I'm working hard on editing the audio material, as well as working on the practicalities of the Mersey: The river that changed the world exhibition. We've started to develop a website to provide an online home for the project, of which more will be revealed soon. Meanwhile, Colin's also out and about tying up loose ends - last night saw him take to the waters with John Curry, another Pilot, and I believe he'll be casting off on New Brighton beach with Louise and Les from Sefton Sea Anglers very soon (hope the sun keeps shining, Colin).