Mersey Basin Campaign Blog

Orange RockCorps Volunteers Gave, Got Wet and Got Given!

On a very wet Sunday June 7th, 46 volunteers braved the weather to come down to a site adjacent to the River Medlock to do their bit for the environment.

 

In partnership with Mersey Basin Campaign, Groundwork and Orange RockCorps an event was organised to help clear as much of the fly-tipped rubbish as possible from out of the bushes next to the river. Volunteers also helped to clear the paths, cut back vegetation and help remove some of the Himalayan Balsam that has started to take over the site.

Yuck! What a mess!

Volunteers were recruited via a scheme called Orange RockCorps, which was started in the US and is now into it’s second year in the UK. The aim of the scheme is to encourage people to have a go at volunteering, particularly young people. RockCorps recognised that a lot of people may wish to try volunteering and either don’t know who to contact to get started, or don’t know how to go about the activities involved in volunteer work. In light of this, RockCorps started going out to various organisations to find activities that could use a big group of volunteers. Volunteers could then sign up for events through the website and were offered the incentive that, if you give four hours of your time to help make a difference, you get given a ticket to an exclusive gig at the Royal Albert Hall! You can’t win yourself a ticket, you can’t buy yourself a ticket, you have to earn your ticket.

 

This year the scheme has been extended to include events in Manchester as well as London, with a companion gig at the Manchester Apollo. Acts have already been announced for the Manchester Apollo gig on July 13^th and include Lady Gaga, N-Dubz and The Enemy! Not bad for free (well not exactly free, but still cheap at the price for doing 4 hours work!).

  Everyone hard at work

Down by the River Medlock, everyone got soaked whilst they were signing in but the rain managed to hold off while they were working until the end of the event (where it started again with a vengeance!). Orange RockCorps supplied all the volunteers with t-shirts, ponchos and gloves (which were theirs to keep) as well as providing snacks and drinks during the event and pizza to celebrate afterwards!  

 

All the volunteers made a real effort and for some people it was their first time volunteering. Between the whole team, they filled a skip to overflowing with cleared rubbish and vegetation. Some of the weird and wonderful items collected included: a fridge, a mattress, loads of old carpet, tyres and hubcaps, a plastic dog house, a broken TV and loads of general litter such as cans, bottles and plastic bags.

After – such a difference!

Could that skip be any fuller?!

 It really was a great event making a real difference to an area with few resources. I’d like to say a few huge thank yous to the various partners involved. Firstly, thanks to Orange RockCorps for recruiting the volunteers and supplying all the extras, incentives and equipment (basically all the hard work!). Thanks to Groundwork for their support on site visits and helping out on the day. Thanks to Manchester City Council for kindly donating the skip and disposing of the waste. Thanks to the Ardwick Centre for very kindly letting us use their car park and toilets. And finally, thanks to all the volunteers who weren’t put off by the rain and who came down and made a real effort. Thanks for all being so enthusiastic and I hope you all have an amazing time at the gig!

 

There are still volunteering events going on in Manchester (and London) so if you would like to have a go, sign up on the Orange RockCorps website: www.orangerockcorps.co.uk

Go on, give and get given!

AFSL - Big Blog Challenge

An interesting new blogging project I've just heard about, being run by the Manchester-based charity ACTION FOR SUSTAINABLE LIVING. AFSL's role in life is to get people involved with and enthused about more sustainable ways of living, and to give their new blog a kick start, they've asked three brave volunteers to blog for them for two weeks about their own personal lifestyle change.

June's three bloggers are: Lucy Flintoff from south Manchester, who'll be reporting on her efforts to recycle as much of her home waste as possible for the fortnight; Michael Kelly from Failsworth, who's going to document his experiences of commuting on his newly purchased bike, and Sarah Ventress, a meat-eater who'll be turning vegetarian, and writing about how she manages to resist the lure of a bacon butty.

You can keep up with their adventures at: http://afsl.wordpress.com/

AFSL are looking for three more bloggers to take over in July, so if you're up for the challenge, contact ANNABEL BRADBURY

Rochdale Canal Festival '09 - face painting, bouncy castles and kayaks....

 

Just a few weeks now until the start of this year's Rochdale Canal Festival, so I thought I'd start giving you a taste of what's planned for the week.

The first day of the festival is Saturday 11th July, and it looks like being a packed day along the canal.

AT EALEES, LITTLEBOROUGH... there'll be a fun day, which is taking place between 11am-4pm, and will feature boat rides, bouncy castle, face painting, donkey rides, craft stalls, and music from Littleborough Public Brass Band, to name just a few attractions. No need to book, just turn up on the day.

IN MILES PLATTING... is the aptly named Miles Platting Festival, with arts and crafts activities, face painting, fishing, sports, photography workshops and refreshments available. No need to book, just stroll along and join in.

FEELING A LITTLE MORE ACTIVE? Then make tracks for Moston Brook, where you can participate in a guided walk along the Rochdale Canal to Queen's Park. The walk starts at 1.30pm and should finish at around 3pm.

ALTERNATIVELY... you could head for Hollingworth Lake Water Activity Centre, where there will be a family pond dip - see which creatures you can find and identify.

UP FOR AN ADVENTURE? Then book yourself in for a kayaking taster session at Hollingworth Lake - call 0161 242 8216 to book.

That's enough for now. Exactly a month to go until the Festival!

Wild Walk #12.5 with David Haley

Picture (c) Graeme Cooper 2008

Do you fancy yourself as the next David Attenborough, or perhaps the Northwest's answer to Captain Cook? Would you like the chance to explore our urban jungle from a new perspective? Then we might have just the event for you.

Ecological artist David Haley will be leading an exciting arts and ecology expedition through Manchester city centre as part of the Rochdale Canal Festival on Wednesday 15th July. Starting at midday from Deansgate station, and finishing up at Beswick St, the tour will provide an unrivalled opportunity to discover Manchester's wildlife. Participants will search the urban landscape for plant and animal habitats, and find out exactly who and what shares our city.

There will be time for drawing, photography and field studies to consider Manchester as a living organism. David, a research fellow at MIRIAD, Manchester Metropolitan University, promises us plenty of educational stuff, and serious bits (his words) for people keen on urban ecology, spatial planning, futures studies, art, science and community participation.

The programme for the walk is as follows:

12:00 Welcome at Deansgate station - introductions, health and safety, any questions

12:15 set off

1:00 Oxford Rd - break for drink, information, drawing, photography, observation and talking

1:15 set off

2:00 Piccadilly station - break for drink, information, drawing, photography, observation, talking and collecting.

2:15 set off

3:00 Finish at Beswick St

3:10 return via Ashton Canal

3:30 drop off at Piccadilly station

ROUTE

A brief view of the River Medlock and Bridgewater Canal will be supplemented by Castlefield Basin - one of the oldest transport interchanges in the world. We then follow the Rochdale Canal passed Oxford Road to Piccadilly Basin. From there we will walk to Beswick Street, then take the Ashton Canal back to Picadilly station.

SAFETY AND COMFORT

Clothing: comfortable shoes and clothes - waterproofs, hat, sunscreen

Tools: please bring portable drawing equipment, camera, binoculars if you have them

Water: please bring a bottle of water

Food: please bring a picnic lunch

Toilets: will be available at lunchtime

Access: the route is wheelchair / buggy friendly

Warning: beware what you're picking up

Children: under 16s must be accompanied by an adult

HAVE FUN!

If you'd like to hear an audio feature on David and his walks, please visit http://hearmanchester.com/green/

Coming soon to the Catalyst

 

Woo hoo! Mersey: River that changed the world is back on the road again! After 2008's non-stop schedule - which saw the exhibition visit Liverpool's Albert Dock, Sale Waterside Arts Centre, The Boat Museum at Ellesmere Port and Stockport Art Gallery - the multimedia extravaganza celebrating the River Mersey will be on view again for the summer of 2009.

Part of the exhibition has just been on a warm-up tour to Liverpool's John Lennon Airport (hmmmm, that got us all in the holiday mood), but in a few short weeks, the whole thing will be landing at Widnes' Catalyst Science Discovery Centre (just under the Runcorn Bridge) for three months. We're really excited about the exhibition's new home, and the folks at Catalyst have got some fun activities planned for the summer too.

As well as checking out Colin McPherson's Mersey travelogue photography, you'll be able to explore the centre's scientific displays and interactive areas, and get an unrivalled view of the river and bridge from the glass observatory on the top floor (I was there on Friday, and it's hard to drag yourself away). On top of that, you can contribute to the Mersey exhibition by leaving your own 'Mersey Memory' on a postcard for us.

I'll keep you posted as the installation goes ahead, but watch this space, or the Mersey project website to find out when the exhibition will open at the Catalyst.

 

The Islands of Britain have nothing on the islands of Barrow....

 

Have you been watching Martin Clunes exploring the islands of Britain in his TV series recently? Fancy a spot of island-hopping yourself, right here in the northwest? Well, why not join the Morecambe Bay Partnership for a walk to Piel Island on Sunday 31st May? The event is taking place in partnership with Streetsafe, and will include a beach clean on Piel. The pub and barbecue on the island will be open for business, and if you're lucky, you could meet the King of Piel, Steve Chattaway. For more details, or to sign up, CLICK HERE...

If that whets your appetite, you can also get another fix of island life on Sunday 4th July, with a Leven Estuary walk to Chapel Island. A £10 deposit in advance is requested for this walk - for more details CLICK HERE 

In the meantime, here's a gallery of photos we took on a recent expedition to Piel ourselves....have you got better pics? Let us know, send us a link!

Blow climate bubbles in Manchester for Futuresonic 2009

 

Been out and about in Greater Manchester this morning? You didn't happen to spot anyone blowing bubbles, did you? No, United aren't at home to West Ham, it's all part of a project that's taking place during this week's Futuresonic festival in the city.

Climate Bubbles is part of the festival's Environment 2.0 strand, and aims to provide the Met Office with a picture of Greater Manchester's urban heat island (yes, there is one, despite how it feels this morning....).

Everyone can get involved with the project, and there are two simple tasks to complete - first, blow some bubbles and chase them, to record the wind direction, and second, blow a bubble and record how long it takes to travel ten metres. You can do the tasks at any time between midday today (15th May) and midday tomorrow (16th May), although apparently the best weather conditions will be after 3pm on Friday. It doesn't matter where in Greater Manchester you are - the project would like data from as many different places as possible.

Download your instructions and worksheet HERE - what're you waiting for?

Get ready for the Rochdale Canal Festival 2009

 

This year's Rochdale Canal Festival is being held from 11th - 19th July, and features a week of free eco-themed activities along the canal in Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale and Calderdale.

Festival organisers have already got lots of exciting events in the pipeline, here's a quick taster:

12th July | Junior angling taster day (run by Todmorden Angling Society) | Todmorden 10-4pm

12th July | Failsworth to Manchester bike ride - including a chance to ride around Manchester's velodrome, and along the Rochdale and Ashton canals

13th July | Free KS2 schools half-day workshop looking at the canal's history and wildlife | ROCHDALE

14th July | Lecture on legs (Hebden Bridge Local History Society) | Hebden End Canal Bridge, 7pm

14th July | Free KS2 schools half-day workshop (as above) | OLDHAM

15th July | Family fun cycle ride (Oldham PCT) | Rochdale & Daisy Nook, 10:30am-12noon

15th July | Free KS2 schools workshop (as above) | MANCHESTER

For more information about the festival, get in touch with Lucy Rogers at the Waterways Trust. To book a place on the schools workshops in Oldham, Rochdale or Manchester, please contact either Lucy or Freya on 0161 242 8216.

Full events listings will be available on Rochdale MBC's website, and on The Waterways Trust homepage closer to the festival. We'll post up more news soon, so watch this space.

Woden Street clean up provides spotless backdrop to new art installation

On May 11^th Mersey Basin Campaign worked in partnership with both Manchester and Salford city councils, to help tackle the littering and fly tipping at Woden Street footbridge. Mersey Basin Campaign funded the use of specialist contractors from the Up and Under Group Ltd to collect the litter and debris that has been dumped off the bridge and down the steep bank of the River Irwell. The two-man rope team were vital as no one else could access such a steep and potentially dangerous site.

 

  

 

Hard to see with all the vegetation - but this area is full of rubbish that people have dumped rather than dispose of properly.

 

Working on a gorgeous sunny day the contractors worked hard collecting and winching buckets of litter up to the bridge. Whilst this was going on, Mersey Basin Campaign and staff from the Manchester City Council street environment team cleared the litter, debris and rubble from under the railway arches on the Manchester side. Over on the Salford side members of Salford City Council’s clean team removed litter and cut back grass and vegetation to make the whole site look greatly improved.

 

 

Not very nice!

 

The litter collected by the Up and Under contractors combined with the litter and debris collected by Manchester City Council and Mersey Basin Campaign filled an entire skip almost to overflowing. There was lots of general litter such as plastic bags and bottles, food packaging and drinks cans. Some more interesting items collected included a sledgehammer, a huge lorry tyre and a Sainsbury’s shopping trolley that was pulled from the river. 

 

Hard to believe how much rubbish was collected in only a few hours!

 

Woden Street footbridge has historically been a notorious spot for fly tipping and lack of lighting with rubbish everywhere makes the site feel very unsafe for most people. A student from Manchester Metropolitan University called Emily Spruce - who lives on the Salford side - uses the bridge regularly (as do many other people who passed us whilst we were hard at work!) to get to university but she has wanted the area improved for some time.

 

Emily approached the three local authorities: Manchester, Salford and Trafford as Woden Street footbridge is where their three borders meet, to try and get something done to make the place more pleasant. That was before Christmas and now the project is at its final stages. The clean-ups around the bridge are only phase one as next week the large stretch of wall along the Salford side that is currently covered in graffiti will be whitewashed in preparation for a 40ft mural to be painted on it. The mural will feature various landmark buildings from each of the three local authorities and will be coated with a special substance to prevent people spraying graffiti over the top. There will be a launch event on May 24th with local school children adding to the artwork beneath the bridge as well as a barbeque and what is hoped will be a festival-type atmosphere. This community engagement is hoped will help to foster a sense of ownership for the new artwork and help the community to look after it. 

Manchester side - absolutely spotless!

Salford side - super tidy!

 

Mersey Basin would like to say a big thank you to Andy and Andy from Up and Under Ltd for all the hard work they put into the not-very-pleasant-and-quite-smelly job. Also, thanks to Richard Burrows from Manchester City Council Street Environment team for very kindly providing the skip and for coming down on the day to help out. Thanks to Salford for helping to brighten up their side of the river and finally, thanks to Emily as without her hard work and determination to improve where she lives, this project would not have happened.

I wonder if Sainsburys want their trolley back?!

River Irwell revitalised thanks to Marriott Manchester Victoria and Albert Hotel

 

 

Marriott International pledged its commitment to environmental preservation more than 20 years ago. An executive Green Council set the global strategy and at hotel level Green Committee’s have been formed. Now every year, thousands of Marriott associates celebrate Marriott Environmental Month.

 

The theme for the 2009 Marriott Environmental Month is “Spirit to Preserve”. At the Marriott Manchester Victoria & Albert Hotel this has been translated into preserving the 275 metre stretch of Irwell riverbank starting at the New Quay Street Bridge through to Prince’s Bridge.

On the 25^th and 26^th April volunteers from the Marriott V & A teamed up with Proud of Manchester and the Mersey Basin Campaign to widen the path by cutting back the brambles and removing aggressive and dominating weeds. Overhanging trees were pruned back to stop litter catching in the branches and finally all dead foliage was removed.

Before - the path was very overgrown with brambles and dead foliage.

 

Each day seven Victoria & Albert employees worked tirelessly putting in 87 hours volunteer time between them! Over the two days they collected six bin-bags worth of rubbish as well as filling an additional 10 bags with cleared giant hogweed, a non-native invasive species that causes photosensitive burns when it comes into contact with skin. On top off this great achievement they also filled an entire skip with cleared vegetation such as trees and brambles. The path is now much clearer for people to enjoy walking alongside the river and there is still plenty of vegetation to act as a habitat haven for wildlife in the city centre.

Everyone hard at work.

Watch that machete!!

 

Mersey Basin Campaign would like to say huge congratulations to the staff at Marriott Manchester Victoria and Albert Hotel for all their hard work. It is great to see that Marriott are so committed to their environmental responsibilities and they have helped make a real difference to this stretch of the River Irwell.

Afterwards - what a difference (a what a full skip!).