Freshwater? Reviving England’s polluted rivers
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A new report published by the BES asks what are the critical actions government should prioritise for freshwater before 2030?
We’ve seen the headlines, read the eye-popping investigations, and heard the exchanges between government, activists and water companies. From Joe Lycett on Channel 4 to the Environment Agency Chair at the NFU Conference last month – the calls for action to help our freshwater ecosystems are getting louder and more urgent. Within the UK, England’s rivers are in the worst health; only 16% classify as having ‘good’ ecological status and the public are increasingly horrified by what they’re hearing.
Full article here
Berkshire Local Nature Recovery Strategy
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The Berkshire Local Nature Recovery Strategy team are looking for residents, community groups, charities, businesses, schools and colleges to get involved in shaping important plans for protecting and improving natural habitats in the county.
Join us for one of the community workshops:
Wokingham: Maiden Place Community Centre, Earley, RG6 3HD, 20 April, 10am-1pm
Royal Borough Windsor & Maidenhead: Braywick Nature Centre, SL6 1UU, 8 April, 9.30am -12.30pm *Bracknell Forest: Foxes Den Café, Binfield Community Centre, RG42 4EW, 10 April, 5:30–8:30pm
Slough: Salt Hill Activity Centre, SL1 3SS, 16 April, 11am -2pm
West Berkshire: Corn Exchange, Hungerford Town Hall, RG17 0NF, 23 April, 12-3pm
Reading: Dee Space Community Centre, RG30 4YH, 25 April, 12-3pm
Online workshop (Berkshire-wide): Zoom, 30 April, 6.30–8pm Refreshments provided – tea, coffee, biscuits, sandwiches, and an option of a short walk to bring to life an example of great nature work locally.
Please register to attend: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/public-engagement-events-3046799?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=odclsxcollection&utm-source=cp&aff=odclsxcollection
State Of Our Rivers Report 2024
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Almost everything we do on land impacts our rivers. Rivers carry the chemical and physical fingerprint of their local catchments – the land area around rivers from which water drains. They have been polluted, channelised, fragmented by barriers and rarely still follow their natural course. Their current state reflects what we’ve done across their catchments over hundreds of years.
Some forms of pollution are obvious from the riverbank; plastic bottles and crisp packets bobbing in the water, brightly coloured single-use vapes nestled on the riverbed, wet wipes tangled in overhanging vegetation and streams of murky soil washed from fields or grey wastewater from combined sewage overflows (CSOs).
But, looks can be deceiving. Even the clearest looking waters can contain microplastics, industrial chemicals, hydrocarbons, fertilizers and pesticides, and even pharmaceuticals. Untreated sewage spills blight most of our rivers, and even treated wastewater still contains a cocktail of chemicals like pharmaceuticals, pesticides from veterinary flea treatments, nutrients and household cleaning products when it is returned to our waterways.
Getting a clear picture of the state of our rivers is not a simple task – and the issues lie in the availability of data. Across the UK and Ireland, the regulators in each nation monitor water quality and river health in different ways and at different times, making clear-cut comparisons or broad conclusions hard to draw.
The Rivers Trust has produced the above titled report along with an interactive map which can be found at the link below:
https://theriverstrust.org/rivers-report-2024?mc_cid=6187b0d974&mc_eid=06f045f9d4
LFCC Agenda April 2024
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The agenda for the upcoming meeting of the Loddon Fisheries & Conservation Consultative is now available on the downloads page and at the link below.
https://www.lfcc.org.uk/downloads/20-lfcc-documents/9-agenda?download=256
Angling clubs come together to give the Kennet a fishing future
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DEFRA Minister Richard Benyon officially opened a groundbreaking new coarse fish hatchery which local anglers hope will help to replenish stocks of coarse fish in the river Kennet.
The river’s recruitment has been severely impacted by siltation of spawning grounds from the re-opening of the Kennet and Avon Canal and the vast numbers of non-native signal crayfish which now inhabit this once famous chalk stream.
The American signal crayfish was first introduced to the UK for commercial farming purposes in 1976, against the advice of fishery scientists, and have spread to many river catchments wiping out the native white-clawed crayfish and devouring invertebrates and fish spawn.
The Berkshire hatchery, situated close to the river on land donated by the Englefield Estate, is a collaborative project led by the Reading and District Angling Association (RDAA) with support from angling clubs and fisheries along the Kennet Valley including Newbury AA, Civil Service AS, Red Spinners AS, CALPAC and Action for the River Kennet.
You can read the full article on the Angling Trusts website here.
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