Mersey Basin Campaign Blog

Green Team speeding along!

The Green Team has made good progress over the weekend.  Speeding through Russia where the roads are much better and on schedule to reach the rally celebrations in Ulaanbaator.

Whatever's happened to the Green Team?

After almost of week of no news we now have updates on the Green Team.

The ferry crossing to Kazakhstan took 30 hours. Then after a very boring 12 hours they got through customs.  Kazakhstan is hot with camels and sand dunes and the roads have enormous potholes.

Yesterday, the potholes got the better of the 2CV and with a broken chassis the boys were giving up.  But that wouldn’t have been a very good ending to this intrepid tale, would it?

Canadian oil-drillers came to the rescue!  The chassis was welded back together and the Green Team was reborn.

This is the stuff adventures are made of!  Long live the Green Team 2CV!

Cool Seas Roadshow

The Cool Seas Roadshow gives you the chance to get up-close and personal with life-size and life-like models of whales, dolphins, sharks, giant turtles, seals and porpoises - all animals resident in the seas around us.

It is a spectacular new initiative to raise public awareness of the wonderful marine wildlife in our cool UK seas.  Tropical waters and coral reefs get all the publicity, but our cold ('temperate') seas are filled with an equally exciting range of animal and plant life.

Hosted by The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside, the roadshow will tour our coastline for five days in August to celebrate Marine Week.  Booking is not required, except for the Special Events on Friday 17^th August.

You can also make friends with smaller marine creatures in Shorelife Touch Tanks and enjoy marine family fun day activities.  In addition and you will be able to sign a ‘Petition Fish’ scale and pledge your support for a Marine Bill to protect our seas.

So come along and learn about life under the sea and lots more.

Each day the events will run from 11am to 4pm.

The Cool Seas Roadshow will be found at the following locations: -

Monday 13^th August

Jubilee Park, Cleveleys

Contact: Charlie Pass, Wyre Coast & Countryside Services, tel: 01253 863100

Tuesday 14^th August

Ainsdale Discovery Centre, Southport

Contact: Sefton Coast & Countryside Service, tel: 0151 934 2967

Wednesday 15^th August

RSPB Ribble Discovery Centre, Fairhaven Lake, Lytham

Contact: Julie Vale, RSPB  tel: 01253 796 292

Thursday 16^th August

Marine Hall, Fleetwood,

Also featuring ‘Catriona Stamp: ‘Art of Litter’ display

Children's marine craft activity 12 noon – 1 p.m.

Coastguard Service 2 p.m. –3 p.m.

Strandline Safari 3 p.m. – 4 p.m.

Contact: Charlie Pass, Wyre Coast & Countryside Services, tel: 01253 863100

Friday 17^th August

Venue: Solaris Centre, Blackpool,

Host: Blackpool Borough Council.

Contact: David McGrath, Solaris Centre, tel; 01253-478 020

The Roadshow’s Grand Finale at Blackpool features these additional Special Events (Booking is advised):

10.00 a.m. - 11.00 a.m. Explore the Rock Pools of Blackpool's South Beach - meet at the Solaris Centre. Bring a net and bucket.  Led by David McGrath of Blackpool Borough Council.

12.30 p.m. - 2.30 p.m.  Porpoise Watch as the tide rises - meet at the Solaris Centre. Bring binoculars if possible. Led by David McGrath of Blackpool Borough Council.

'Putt'-ing an end to Himalayan Balsam

Players from Crewe Golf Club have been helping to rid their golf course of the invasive non-native weed Himalayan Balsam.  Brian Cornelius from the club contacted Action Upper Weaver about the problem, which is spreading from the banks of Valley Brook up into the woodlands throughout the course.

Not wishing to see an extra obstacle to a round of 18 holes, the players took the initiative and have so far organised two Balsam Bashes, the last one being just in time to pull it up before it set seed.

We all know that this is a huge problem on our waterways, but it is easy to organise your own Balsam Bashing activity.  The season is almost over for this year, but you can find out more by contacting Izzy at Action Upper Weaver on 01270 537071 or [email protected].  You can also find out more about Himalayan Balsam and other invasive plants from the Environment Agency website - click here

Britain's biggest sea battle since Trafalgar

The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside calling for help to raise £10,000 to help fight for the wildlife in our seas. With your help, the Trust aim to raise £10,000 to pay for a year of campaigning for better legislation to protect the wildlife in and around our seas.

Gordon Brown’s announcement in early July implied that the Marine Bill would not be given time in the next parliamentary session, despite previous promises. There is still time to change his mind.To succeed, we must commit some of our precious financial resources. Can you help?

To explain the problem in a nutshell - human activities pose an ever-increasing threat to the sensitive marine ecosystem, yet there are no fully protected marine areas around our coastline.

To find out more information and to donate towards the appeal visit www.lancswt.org.uk

Lancashire Partners Day at Brockholes

A couple of us Ribble girls decided to visit Brockholes today to have a look at what we could do for partners day in MWH Mersey Basin Week.

Brockholes is a former quarry, recently acquired by Lancashire Wildlife Trust, who will be working on the wetland reserve, which is being developed as part of the Newlands scheme. Even though it is so close to the M6, it's a quiet site and has so much potential.

The new reserve manager, Sophie was very keen for us to hold a partners day at Brockholes and knew exactly what she wanted doing straight away. We can get rid of the willows was her answer, and there are plenty of them!

Removing willow, will not only open up the view across the lake in the photograph, but will help future work to improve the wetland habitat. After the willow have gone, Sophie intends to create a gentle slope in the shallower water at the edge of the lake so that it is more user friendly for wading birds

Oh, we do like to be beside the seaside

Lancashire Wildlife Trust has today announced the results of a national survey to mark the start of Marine Week.

When asked to choose from a list of six options*, a day at the seaside topped the poll as people’s favourite leisure activity.

Most also saw the sea as an important food source, but more than three-quarters felt that there are fewer fish in the sea than 20 years ago. People were very supportive of marine conservation and thought that sensitive areas of our seas should be protected in Marine Reserves – conservation areas where all damaging activities are banned.

The Wildlife Trusts’ Marine Week runs from 4-19 August. This celebration of the sea features exciting events all around the UK. At many events you will be able to sign a Petition Fish scale and pledge your support for a Marine Bill to protect our seas.

 

Visit the website at www.lancswt.org.uk for details of the Marine Week activities and also how you can help to protect our seas and the wildlife it supports.

*The six options were: a day at the races, a visit to a country house, a day at the seaside, a night on the town, a visit to a theme park, a trip to the cinema.

castlefield...manchester's hidden gem

castlefield has its problems but it shouldn't be forgotten that it has been transformed from almost total dereliction into a wonderful asset to the city, the region, the world! It is a waterside oasis. It may be underused but it is precious. Castlefield needs proper management and tender loving care. It needs far better and more welcoming links to the rest of the city - Deansgate in particular... bring on the urban designers

Springfield suffers the consequences of polluting, d'oh!

I went to see the Simpsons Movie last night and I just had to write something on the MBC blog.

I'll not go too much into the story, I don't want to spoil it for anyone who is planning on going to see the film anytime soon. As with all movies, the themes usually touch on topics that are in the news and the Simpsons Movie is no exception...they look at environmental issues.

Near the beginning of the film, we are faced with a scene we all hate in the world of water conservation...citizens and businesses dumping sewage, bottles and other stuff into the local lake...arrrgghh! Something we are all familiar with.

Not long after, we see the citizens of Springfield cleaning up the lake, sorry for polluting it. Only one person spoils the clean up effort (mmm usually the case!) and the Environmental Protection Agency gets very very angry...D'oh!

I'll not tell you what the EPA do, but it is something you will only see in the Simpsons...though I did wonder for a while (well about a minute) whether it would work in real life...

I did notice that there was no sign of the infamous three eyed fish in Springfield's lake, it must have been too polluted!

Where now for Castlefield?

A broad consensus on the future of Castlefield in Manchester emerged from a spirited debate last night.

Broadly speaking, the panel and audience alike shared the view that Castlefield could become the antidote to the city centre’s lack of green of space, with tranquil gardens and a children’s play area making the most of its waterside setting.

Daytime events such as farmers’ markets or craft fairs could help to bring people into the area. It should also link into surrounding attractions such as the Science and Industry Museum and Deansgate, and be better signposted. A lick of paint on some of the bridges and railings wouldn’t go amiss either.

There was corresponding agreement that a return to the area’s 1990s heyday as the city’s drinking and party venue is now both unrealistic and undesirable. There are too many trendy new bars elsewhere in the city centre, and too many new residents in Castlefield, who, understandably, are not keen on living amongst drunkenness and excess every weekend.

The debate was provoked by a typically forthright article by local journalist Phil Griffin and published on the equally provocative Manchester Confidential website. Few people argued with his opinion that Castlefield has lost its way in recent years.

The practical upshot was an agreement to create a new partnership of local residents, businesses and the council to steer the area towards a brighter future.

Personally, I’m all in favour. There is huge potential for Castlefield to play a really important role in the life of the city centre. And it was encouraging to see that people have a strong sense that something needs to be done quickly, along with broad agreement on what it should be.

Well done to Manchester Confidential for setting the ball rolling – the task now is make sure it doesn’t lose momentum.