Mersey Basin Campaign Blog

An update from Mongolia...

Just a quick update from Graeme and Mark of Green Team 2CV, whose trip from London to Mongolia in an environmentally-friendly 2CV we followed on this blog in the summer. The boys left the solar panel from their car, along with the laptop which they used to stay in touch during their journey, over in Mongolia, for use on local projects run by Mercy Corps. Anna from Mercy Corps has sent the following update to show how the equipment is being used:

I have good news – I have received an update about your solar panel and laptop and have attached some photos for you to see.

They have both made it to a school in a province called Dundgobi where Mercy Corps work. The school itself has recently had some repairs carried out to it, funded by Mercy Corps, but the facilities are very basic. The school also has the poorest student body in the area because a lot of children come from very poor herders' families and are housed in a rather miserable dormitory in the school. So the new equipment that you kindly donated is reaching the poorest children in Dundgobi and really making a difference to their lives.

The solar panel has now been placed on the roof of the pupil’s dormitory to provide electricity when the normal power supply fails. The School director said,

"The solar power source has been installed in the student dormitory. It’s kept ready and is used when local power is disconnected. Electricity is particularly bad in the winter, but since the Gobi Desert region has so much sunshine, the solar panel allows the students in the dorm to study even during the frequent, and long power outages."

The laptop is also being used by teachers and pupils at the school to help them with their studies. They are keen to communicate with the school here in the UK that wrote them letters.

I hope the pictures attached make it all come to life a bit more. There are shots of the solar panel on the dormitory roof and children working under a electric light – powered by the solar panel, so that they can continue their school work. There are also some shots of children working on the laptop.

 

Three rare warblers appear in Wigan

Three rare warbler species have turned up this autumn on the Wigan Flashes Local Nature Reserve

In September, a Yellow-browed Warbler was spotted on the reserve after seemingly taking a wrong turn on it's way to Asia from Russia! It is now mingling with long-tailed tits feeding on insects in the willows and sycamores opposite Scotsmans Flash. Another Yellow-browed warbler was spotted more recently at Poolstock Lock near Westwood.

Two Firecrests, the smallest British birds (by weight) were found by Mark Champion at Wellham Road next to Hawkley High School. This species is normally found in Scandanavia.

The Cettie's Warbler has also been spotted (and heard singing) in the newly managed reed beds. It is unusual to see this species as it doesn't normally migrate. First bred in Kent in the 1970's it seems this bird is spreading it's wings and moving 'oop north'!

The sightings of these birds is showing that conservation works taking place at Wigan Flashes is having a positive impact and proving to be an attractive location for birds. Let's not forget that bitterns have also been found on the site following habitat improvements!

Litter Trap BLOG

I am updating the litter trap project BLOG regularly and the webpage detailing the litter trap trappings at the moment but will make posts about other projects whenever there is something to report.

Litter Trap trappings & lifebuoy lost?

There is a new webpage dedicated to posting photographs of the litter trap trappings.  I have been amazed at what is turning up - yesterday there was a life buoy in the basket !  If you know where the life buoy has come from, please let me know and I will ask our contractor to keep hold of it when he next empties the basket.

Trappings 3rd December 2007 - a lifebuoy, plastic drinks cups and bottles, branches, leaves and a huge bleach bottle (just off the photo).

Ask that burning question at the Mersey Basin Campaign Conference 07...

The Mersey Basin Campaign's annual conference is taking place at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester on Thursday, 13th December 2007. We've got a packed programme planned, with a focus on two main strands; climate change and the water environment, and waterside regeneration and regional parks.

There will be various opportunities for delegates to put their questions to our speakers, and you can ask a question in advance by adding it as a comment at the foot of this post. We'll then print your question out for you, and it will be waiting for you when you arrive at the conference. Simply click 'Comments' at the bottom of this post to add your question.

Thanks, and we'll see you at the conference......

Planting by the Upper Weaver

Sunday was a good day for native plant species in Nantwich, as volunteers planted oak trees, snowdrops and bluebells.

One of the highlights of 2006's MWH Mersey Basin Week in the Upper Weaver was a BBC Breathing Spaces seed hunt, where people gathered native tree seeds at Nantwich Riverside and planted them in biodegradable pots.  On Sunday some of these seed hunters returned to Nantwich and planted out the - mainly oak - seedlings on a local allotment, to be cared for until this time next year, when they will be planted in their final positions by the River Weaver. 

As well as the trees, over 2000 native bluebell and snowdrop bulbs were planted along the path by the Weaver so visitors should be able to enjoy an impressive splash of colour in the spring.  The bulbs were paid for by Crewe & Nantwich Borough Council (CNBC), and the day was organised by CNBC's Riverside Officer James Thompson and Action Upper Weaver

Vote for Sustrans Connect2

Are you bored of Big Brother, and couldn't care less about the 'celebrities' in the jungle? Well here's a TV vote with a difference - one that can actually make a positive difference to YOUR local area. The People's 50 Million lottery giveaway is a unique TV show in which viewers' votes will decide which of four environmental projects will be the lucky recipient of Big Lottery funding.

One project, Sustrans Connect2, is a UK-wide initiative that aims to improve local travel in 79 communities around the country by creating new walking and cycling routes to encourage sustainable transport. The project really does have something for everyone, with 6 million people living within 1 mile of a Connect2 scheme.

If Connect2 is successful in the television vote, some 12 projects in the region will benefit from funding, including improvements along the Bridgewater Canal in Sale and Stretford, and a new bridge over the River Goyt linking Marple and Stockport. Check out the other Northwest schemes here.

You can vote online for Connect2 HERE from now until 12 noon on 10th December, and by phone from 9am on 7th December.

What are you waiting for? It'll do much more good than evicting Christopher Biggins................

Is the Ribble Barrage out of the Window?

Speakers from a number of organisations addressed the public meeting about the Preston Vision Board's idea to build a barrage across the River Ribble.  None of them thought the barrage should be built.  This echoed the sentiments of over 70 people in the packed room.

Cllr John Swindells  (ex-Cabinet Member for the Environment) held up the Cardiff Bay Barrage as an example.  It had damaged the environment.  The mudflats had been covered over and the birds had ignored the new mudflats created for them.  Money was constantly needed to alleviate flood risks and to deal with the plagues of mosquitoes, which had not been anticipated when the barrage was proposed.  The original estimate for the project was £40M but in reality it had cost £400M.  Councillor Swindells assured the meeting that he would not support the barrage under any scheme.

Leader of the Council Ken Hudson took the opposite view.  He told everyone that the barrage and development of the river was first proposed to generate money to overcome the problems in Preston Dock; namely the silt, blue-green algae, the need for new lock gates and swing-bridge renovations.  He went on to say that the Public had been listened to and now Riverworks was broken into 3 separate projects and that the barrage idea was now ‘out of the window’.

Later, this was questioned by Cllr Jack Davenport who said that there had been no official statement from the city council or Preston's Vision Board to that effect. He went on to say that Riverworks had always been broken into sections and although the barrage proposal had been moved down the priorities, to make no mistake that it was still definitely on the agenda.   Cllr Davenport also suggested that the barrage idea was a matter of scrutiny versus speculation.  He commented that speculation had resulted from a lack of open opportunities to scrutinise the ideas.

Cllr Bhikhu Patel chaired the meeting very professionally and many attendees were able to voice their concerns.  One gentleman raised the point that if a barrage was built against the advice of the Environment Agency and floods resulted, the council might be held liable for private prosecutions.  There was a call for the barrage not to be at the bottom of the shopping list but that it should be taken off altogether.

Cllr Patel saying that it appeared most people were against building a barrage asked the room whether they thought a feasibility study (predicted to cost £240,000) into the proposal should be conducted.   He also asked whether those present wanted housing in South Ribble, near to the river.  The public answer to both questions was a resounding NO!

Trappings 3rd October 2007

 

Here's what was in the River Darwen litter trap on 3rd October 2007 - a bannister rail, a tyre, footballs, plastic drinks bottles, fast food polystyrene wrappers.  For more information about the project click here.

Trappings 4th September 2007

Here's what was in the River Darwen litter trap on 4th September 2007- garden waste (conifer branches), plastic drinks bottles, fast food polystyrene wrappers.  For more information about the project click here.