Celebrating World Rivers day, a round-up of a hectic week!

10th October 2014 - General Catchment

Over 150 people in West Cumbria enjoyed a series of fascinating site visits, talks and activities to celebrate World Rivers Day.

World Rivers Day began in Canada 30 years ago but became officially recognised as a global event by the United Nations in 2005 as part of their ‘Water for Life’ decade. It takes place every year on the last Sunday in September and involves thousands of people across the planet in projects as diverse as identifying illegal dumping sites in Russia, holding community awareness programmes in West Africa, organising community clean ups in Poland and highlighting the need for better sewage treatment for the River Ganges in India.

Events in Cumbria included a tour of Thirlmere dam by John Gorst & Paul Phillips from United Utilities which gave a fascinating insight into how we get water from the hills to our taps and how our precious water resource is managed;

A tour of habitat creation and riverbank stabilisation work along the River Derwent by local legend Mike Farrell of the Environment Agency;

.

   

.

We checked out what was being flushed at Keswick’s shiny new sewage treatment works - would you believe that our sludge must be pumped downhill due to the amount of Fats, Oil & Grease (FOIL) we put down the drains!

A beautiful sunny morning was spent as Seascale sewage treatment works with United Utilities,  Love my Beach and Catchment Sensitive Farming (CSF), and a very lively and interesting evening was had by a group of farmers in Loweswater; learning about soil compaction and aeration with GrassMaster Charlie Morgan.

  

Yet another tour of our flagship  Whit Beck River Restoration project was led by our river man Ian Creighton - I keep telling him we should hire him out, we’d make a fortune! And our very own Stuart Moreton provided expert advice on tackling invasive non-native species in Cleator Moor with the Copeland Lengthsmen Scheme; there was environmental training for outdoor leaders led by Friends of the Lake District and the National Trust and a mass rubbish clearance of the Derwent estuary by British Canoeing, Copeland CC, Workington Sea Cadets & Lakeland CC - what an exhausting week!

     .

A highlight for many was the tour led by Wildlife surveyor John Martin, who showed us “Whatta lotta Otter” there are living by our rivers! He gave wonderful insights into the world of otters during a fascinating walk and talk along the River Derwent. It felt like Tonto and the Lone Ranger – looking for otter tracks and signs and even smelling otter poo! It smells a bit like jasmine tea – but adding hot water and drinking is not advisable!

    

.

All in all we had a fantastic week! The sun shone and people came out in force to attend our watery events. It was a time to celebrate our rivers, but it was also a time to appreciate that we cannot take them for granted. We all have an impact on our water environment and we can all do something to reduce that impact. The question is: What will you do?


World Rivers Day events were organised by the  Derwent & South West Lakes Catchment Partnerships, working together to improve the local water environment. Partners include representatives from landowners and farmers, anglers, RSPB, Canoe England, United Utilities, Environment Agency, Woodland Trust, Forestry Commission, Natural England, Cumbria Wildlife Trust, National Trust, Lake District National Park, Borough & County Councils, Friends of the Lake District and Nurture Lakeland, as well as the partnership host – West Cumbria Rivers Trust.

Don’t forget to complete the ‘ Rivers in the Community’ Survey to share your views and ensure your local river or lake remains a place to enjoy for future generations.