Mersey Basin Campaign Blog

Marine Bill - The Wildlife Trust is asking for your support

Lancashire Wildlife Trust is concerned that new Prime Minister Gordon Brown has failed to list the proposed Marine Bill as a top priority in his recent statement on Bills that will become law in the next parliamentary session.
Breaking with tradition, the Prime Minister has announced his list in advance of the Queen's Speech.
David Dunlop, Marine Conservation Officer for Lancashire Wildlife Trust said: "We have campaigned for the proper protection of the seas and hope that new legislation will include the creation of marine reserves, where it will be illegal to ruin the seabed and destroy wildlife. At the moment, planning law is so disastrously complex that it  doesn't even serve to stop the rot, let alone improve the situation."
Peter Mallon, Communications Officer at Lancashire Wildlife Trust said: " The whole area of protected seabed around the entire coast of Britain amounts to about 100 hectares, which is the same size as our new Brockholes Nature Reserve at Preston. Imagine what would happen to our countryside if Brockholes was the only piece of land in the country to have any protection from ruination."
The Wildlife Trust would like you to get involved in lobbying your local MP to have this subject moved up the political agenda before the Queen's Speech, by which time it may be too late to secure time in the next parliamentary session. If you would like to tell your MP what you think of this situation, contact David Dunlop at 01772 317238 or [email protected]. You could also log on to www.wildlifetrusts.org and click on Making Waves, where you can monitor the national situation.

Beavering away at Martin Mere

Four European beavers have been released in an enclosure at WWT Martin Mere.   
It is believed the Eurasian Beaver became extinct in Britain in the 1500s and by the end of the 1800s only a few hundred beavers remained in Europe. The beaver display at Martin Mere will not only be the only attraction in the North West where visitors can watch beavers in their natural habitat, but the first time they have been resident in Lancashire for 500 years.

More information

Trip to a bog turns out to be a highlight!

Delegates who attended the Cheshire Waters Forum on 5th July were given the opportunity to join a site visit to Wybunbury Moss, a Natural England National Nature Reserve.  The moss is a rare example of "Schwingmoor" (floating bog) which consists of a raft of peat, floating on a lake 13 metres deep.  It was formed during the last ice age, and is deeper than many other floating bogs because of a collapse beneath the peat, caused by subsidence of the underlying salt-bearing rocks. 

Highlights included jumping up and down to make the earth literally move beneath our feet (including rocking the trees), and stopping next to an innocuous looking willow bush, which hosts 75 percent of the UK's population of a certain beetle which only likes small willow bushes that haven't been coppiced, on south-facing sheltered sites!

Tim Coleshaw from Natural England looks after the site, and provided a fascinating tour of the Moss, which isn't normally open to the public because it is dangerous to those who don't know their way round, and because it is so environmentally sensitive.

Despite the relentless rain, we all really enjoyed this rare opportunity to see and learn about such an unusual habitat.  Thanks to all involved.

Good sign for the Valley Brook

Volunteers from Wistaston Conservation Group had an unexpected reward whilst out Balsam Bashing yesterday.  They were clearing Himalayan Balsam from the Joey the Swan area of Valley Brook Nature Park, and were lucky enough to spot a kingfisher following the course of the Valley Brook.  This is a great sign as it indicates that the water quality in the Brook is good.  Malcolm Bellis from Wistaston Conservation Group said that it made the hours of Balsam Bashing worthwile.

 

Elmridge welcomes Green Team 2CV

It may not quite be Mongolia, but Green Team 2CV got on the road on Friday to visit the children of Elmridge Primary School in Hale Barns. They are working towards eco-school status, and have decided to follow Green Team 2CV's progress as part of their project. Everyone was very excited about having the chance to inspect the car at close quarters, and the class were very well-informed about the car, the rally, and Mongolia - in fact, they knew more than the drivers themselves. They've designed some beautiful logos for the car's doors - currently being judged - and will be handing over a box of goodies for Graeme and Mark to deliver to their twin Mongolian school in Dundgobi.

Keep checking back to see how Graeme and Mark are progressing - there are just two weeks to go until their departure date.

Manchester Bloggers

MBC blog visited the Manchester International Festival Pavilion last night to meet up with the BBC's Manchester Bloggers group. It was really interesting to meet so many local bloggers, all writing about different things - such as Craig McGinty, Vince from It's a Blog! Not a Log!, Stephen Newton, Paul Hurst, Spinneyhead, and Edward from Mamucium not to mention Robin Hamman and Richard Fair from the BBC, and other bloggers to numerous to remember without the aid of the Pavilion's wifi network to actually write them down at the time. The festival's main social meeting place seemed to be buzzing, with live music and film and very tasty-looking food and drink it made a fine shelter from the ubiquitous Manchester rain. Sustainability Northwest joined us for the trip too, perhaps they will be tempted to join the world of blogs soon?

We hope we'll be able to join up with the Manchester Bloggers again soon.

Manchester is my planet

Manchester is my planet......

But I do like a nice little corner of the web when I can find one, so it's good to see that Manchester is my Planet, which aims to encourage action on climate change in Greater Manchester, has relaunched its website. The new, all-singing, all-dancing affair includes much more information about the hows, whys and wherefores of climate change (because we're not all Al Gore). There's a downloads section where you can grab logos and slogans to MIMP-ify your emails or blog (see above for an example...), and a section detailing the various projects that are happening around the area right now - including a Green Parking initiative which could impact on Manchester's congestion charge scheme, and the results of Manchester's climate change survey.

At the moment there's not that much interactivity on the site - though you can take the MIMP Pledge - but it seems as if a forum is on it's way so that carbon-counters can exchange ideas and talk to one another. I've also just discovered a carbon counting application on Facebook - though I'm not sure how user-friendly it's going to be. Does anyone know of others?

Cheshire Forum News

The Cheshire Waters Forum 2007 is shaping up to be a lively and interesting event, with over 100 delegates registered and a varied programme of speakers.  You still have the opportunity to post a question or start a debate on one of the Forum topics, which will then be picked up during the Questions to Speakers sessions on Thursday.  For example, do you agree with soapboxer Carl Leckey that there should be more freight on the River Weaver or do you have a different opinion?  Would you like to see more micro-generation projects in your area or are there other alternatives that you prefer?

We'd love to hear from you, so now's your chance to make your opinions known.

See you at the Forum

If you go down in the clough today, be sure of a nasty surprise

This might be a bit of a negative post, but i've done it to highlight the huge problems that Skelmersdale experiences with fly tipping. It's a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde story.

There are many quiet pockets of wooded cloughs with babbling brooks throughout the town, all flowing into the River Tawd. Lots of people use these cloughs for walking their dogs, enjoying the tranquil sound of water, birds and trees rustling in the wind.

Westheads Clough after a recent community clean up

Then there's the other side to the cloughs...you don't have to walk far to see tyres, mattresses, motorbikes, televisions, toys, cabinets strewn in the water. The brooks seem to act as magnets attracting fly tipped waste dumped by local residents.

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Fly tipping in Elmers Clough and trollies at Birch Green

It's such a shame that these thoughtless actions take place, and it is something Action Douglas & Yarrow along with other organisations is trying to tackle. We can't give up!

74 % of Residents Say NO to Ribble Barrage

July 2, 2007
The results of the recent survey run by Lancashire Evening Post have been published.
74% of those completing the survey voted against building a barrage across the River Ribble.  Click here for the article published in the newspaper on Saturday 30 June 2007.