Mersey Basin Campaign Blog

International Slavery Museum opens in Liverpool

Today marks the opening of National Museums Liverpool's newest venue, the International Slavery Museum, which is based inside the Merseyside Maritime Museum at the Albert Dock. The opening date marks Slavery Remembrance Day - 23rd August - and the year 2007 is also significant, being the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade in Britain.

Information about the new museum can be found on its homepage.

Here's an article which has appeared in the New York Times, showing the level of interest in the latest addition to Liverpool's waterfront from the other side of the Atlantic.

Happy Birthday Liverpool!

As Liverpool's 800th birthday approaches (celebrations are taking place on 26-28th August), the Liverpool Echo has invited high school pupils from across the city to reflect on Liverpool's eight centuries of history.

Here, pupils from De La Salle College in Croxteth take a look at how the River Mersey helped Liverpool to grow from a tiny Hamlet to a major city.

Not to be outdone, over at the Daily Post you can watch rare footage of how the city celebrated its 700th birthday back in 1907.

MIMP my ride - get voting!

Ten finalists have been chosen in Manchester Is My Planet's bumper sticker slogan competition - and YOU can decide who wins. See the slogans and cast your vote here. Come on, unleash your inner Simon Cowell.....

a salmon's progress....www.travellingfishy.com

I've just spoken to Graeme Mullin from Green Team 2CV, who arrived back at Envirolink NW's Warrington office this morning, fresh from Ulan Bator, Mongolia. Graeme and his colleague Mark Whitworth managed to complete the Mongol Rally 2007 in an eco-friendly 2CV - in fact, they arrived at the British ambassador's reception with a whole day to spare.

Key to this success was travelling companion Samantha, the wooden Mersey salmon whom Mersey Basin Campaign asked to accompany the team. Samantha was representing the salmon who have returned to the cleaned-up River Mersey. However, with a typical salmon's determination to swim upstream and take on an impossible journey, Samantha has decided to remain overseas after the trip. Following a chance meeting in an UB bar, she is currently forging ahead to Japan, in the company of two backpackers, Louise and Malcolm.

They have established a group on Facebook where you can follow Samantha's progress (also known as www.travellingfishy.com). If you're a member of Facebook, please join the group and support Samantha's quest. Let's see how far this intrepid Mersey salmon can travel - and indeed, whether she will ever make it back to the banks of the Mersey!

We're going to let Graeme and Mark relax and get used to life after the rally for a few days (not to mention finding their missing luggage), but check back soon for their exclusive post-rally debrief.....

Volunteers get dirty to get things clean

Another 'Get Dirty' clean up took place in Skelmersdale this weekend and despite the rain 30 volunteers grabbed litter pickers and set about cleaning up litter hot spots on the Ashurst estate.

We decided to something a bit different at this clean up, something which we should really do at every clean up...we separated cans, plastic and glass bottles so that they could be recycled. It was shocking how many cans we found, and Vodka seems a popular tipple judging by how many bottles we found hidden in the trees!

We found the usual tyres, motorbike parts, TV, crisp packets and after a hard mornings picking we had a hearty lunch of bacon butties and homemade buns provided by some lovely ladies from the Residents Association.

All in all it was a good weekend, watch this space for the next 'Get Dirty' clean up.

They've made it!

Newsflash! According to our sources, we understand that Graeme and Mark, a.k.a. Green Team 2CV, have arrived in Ulan Bator, their final destination. Well done! The team were due to attend a celebratory reception at the British Embassy.....and all the evidence says that they did indeed manage to get there in time. More from the lads as soon as they've come back down to earth, I'm sure.......

Get the lowdown on Crewe

Bloggers can now get all the latest gossip and inside information about what's going on in and around Crewe on the fantastic Crewe blog - an "Ongoing photo diary of life in Crewe, the people, places and its politics, including the railway, town centre redevelopment, Crewe Alexandra and more..."

Updated by the mysterious 'creweblog', whose identity is a closely guarded secret, the site has photos, information and plenty of comments about all sorts of projects, events and places in Crewe.  Some of Action Upper Weaver's projects are featured, including Valley Park, the dipping pond at Crewe Business Park and recently, plenty about the Queens Park Lake.

Take a look here or use the link at the side of this page

Mashable's Green Toolbox

Mashable, the social networking blog, has kindly compiled a Green Toolbox - a guide to online tools and sites that will help you be that little bit greener. Enjoy....

MIMP green bumper stickers...

Another competition for the creative types amongst you....

Manchester is my planet are calling for people to come up with an original and catchy slogan for their new bumper stickers, designed to encourage people to drive less and do their bit to cut carbon emissions. A state-of-the-art bike is on offer for the author of the winning slogan, as well as annual bus passes, and VIP tickets to the Warehouse Project's latest bash. Click here for more details, and to enter the competition.

So, get your thinking caps on and start scribbling. And remember, my other car is carbon neutral.......

60 seconds to save the earth: Video competition

Fancy winning an environmental Oscar? Then this might just be the contest for you. Al Gore's Current TV, in tandem with the Alliance for Climate Protection, has launched a competition looking for short films that show how people are acting against climate change, or encourage others to do something. The Ecospot contest is asking for 15, 30 or 60-second movies which either showcase individual actions or seek to motivate change. 20 semi-finalist films will be chosed by judges including Cameron Diaz, Orlando Bloom, George Clooney and Sam Mendes - and the winner will then be chosen by the public on Current TV's website. Good luck, and happy clapperboards......