Written By: Chris West
On Date: 17/11/2017
The project to remove Ennerdale Mill Weirhas been postponed until the summer of 2018. We will aim to start the works in
mid-June 2018 to take full advantage of the regular in-river working season. Rivers on the Brink! Currently, only one in five rivers in England and Wales is classed as being in a healthy
state. The Rivers Trust has teamed up with WWF’s ‘Nature Needs You’ campaign to ensure that as we withdraw from the EU,
the Government takes this opportunity to introduce robust water legislation into the UK. We need you to write to your local
MP’s telling them why our rivers are so important to you.
World Rivers Day
West Cumbria Rivers Trust celebrated
World Rivers Day 2017 in Beckermet this
September, where we invited potential
volunteers to a taster day. Participants
took part in workshops on water quality
testing by Freshwater Habitats Trust and
biological recording by Cumbria Biological
Data Centre, as well as helping conduct
electrofishing surveys, and finding out about
the Angler’s Riverfly Monitoring Initiative. We
launched our new campaign ‘River Watchers’
to highlight the different things people can do
to help rivers. Find our simple river survey
on our website, and let us know about your
local beck or river.
Charity of the Month
Open all hours very kindly said we could be
their charity of the month for July. There was
a nicely decorated bucket and customers
very generously put their loose change in.
By the end of the month £205.62 had been
raised! Thank you to
all the people who
kindly donated.
Loweswater Care Programme
The final report for the Loweswater Care
Programme has now been issued outlining
full details of the work and monitoring
undertaken to restore the lake. The
report can be found on our website and a
community meeting is planned this winter to
update the local community on the project
to date.
Thanks to United Utilities
Managers for lending a helping hand
WCRT have been running a number of team
building days for United Utilities staff and so
far they have helped out with electrofishing,
making Christmas wreaths, clearing invasive
species at Mirehouse and litter picking. After
the litterpick the group was asked to make a
picture or sculpture
with what they had
found and some very
interesting art works
were made indeed!
Ever wanted to know more about
your local river, what issues it faces
and what’s happening nearby? We
have developed a Catchment Mapping
Portal, available through our website,
to display all the information we
have about our lakes and rivers.
The interactive map shows the
characteristics of the area, data on the
conditions of our watercourses and
the problems we are trying to address,
from flooding, to poor habitats,
pollution and invasive species to name
but a few.
The map also shows the projects that
are happening across West Cumbria
and the project ideas being developed
not just by WCRT but from all our
partner organisations including
the Environment Agency, other
environment charities, Untied Utilities
and local councils. Using all this
information we will be able to identify
where we need to focus our efforts
and coordinate work across our area.
You can submit project ideas to us
through the portal, so let us know if
there’s something you’d like to see
happening.
Find the mapping portal at
http://arcg.is/2gGDiO5 or on the
Catchment Partnership page on our
website.
Catchment Mapping Portal
Want to get involved?
Here are our upcoming volunteer events. Please get in touch if you would like to come along!
15th Nov 2017 -Wasdale Wednesday
25th Nov – 3rd Dec 2017 - National Tree Week (various events)
Wednesday 6th Dec 2017 - Advent window opening with carols sung by St Herberts School
choir at our office on 32 Lake Road.
8th Dec 2017 - Tree planting
13th Dec 2017 -Wasdale Wednesday (Tree Planting)
21st Nov and 20th Dec - Water chemistry sampling
For more information please email info@westcumbriariverstrust.org or visit our website.
Babbling about Rivers
This winter we’ll be ‘Babbling about
Rivers’ in a series of talks and events
funded by Cumbria Community
Foundation. Our first event was a bat
walk and talk with local expert Rich Flight.
Seventeen people enjoyed a walk along
the shore of Derwen****er, spotting
Daubenton’s and common pipistrelle
bats. Over the next six months we’ll
be hosting talks on topics from fish
to flood management and otters to
water industries. Details are still to be
confirmed, so keep an eye out on our
social media and website for all the info!
Common pipistrelle
Pipistrelles are the most common of British bats, weighing around 5 grams
(same as a 20p piece). A single pipistrelle can eat 3,000 tiny insects in just one night!
Daubenton’s bat
Known as the ‘water bat’, Daubenton’s bats fish insects from
the water’s surface with their large feet or tail.
What is Forest School?
By Rebecca Neal
I have the best job! Over the summer
holidays I have been racing mini-rafts
down the river, chatting with baby toads
in the woods, and taking underwater
photos with some lovely Copeland
families. This was part of our Forest
School programme funded by Copeland
Community Fund.
Forest School is a way of working with
people using nature, the outdoors,
and practical activities to develop
confidence, self-esteem and a sense
of achievement. Sessions are often
with young people and are particularly
effective with people who have extra
difficulties in their lives. All Forest
School programmes follow these basic
principles:
• They are a series of sessions with
the same group of people
• They take part in a natural setting,
often in a wood, to support
connection with nature
• They are learner-centred, enabling
choice
• They aim to develop participants’
resilience, confidence,
independence, team work,
positivity, and creativity
• They allow supported risk-taking
• They are run by qualified
practitioners
Thanks to our funders, during term
time we are delivering sessions with a
small group of children from Frizington
Community Primary School and over
the summer holidays we work with
family groups. Below is a poem written
by one family who took part in sessions
at Low Gillerthwaite Field Centre this
summer.
A space to play, an exciting day,
Breathing fresh air, learning to care.
Looking after ourselves, our surroundings and others,
Working together, friends, sisters and brothers.
Climbing trees, bumping knees, someone always looking out for me.
Weaving a boat, will it float?
Spending hours, identifying flowers.
Sweeping nets in long grasses, magnifying glasses.
Building a den, must be time for lunch then!
Discovering fungi, modelling with clay, stroking moss on a rainy day.
Using a pooter to catch a bug, a dictaphone interview with a slug!
Water coming over our wellies, eating brambles and elderberries,
Safely using saws and drills, games in the meadow, admiring the hills,
Cooking bread on the fire, smoke rising higher,
time to reflect, time we’ll never forget.
By Murin age 9, Eden age 7, Lawson age 5 ¾ and Arien 3 ¾
017687 75429
info@westcumbriariverstrust.org
www.westcumbriariverstrust.org
West Cumbria Rivers Trust
32 Lake Road, Keswick,
CA12 5DQ
West Cumbria Rivers Trust
@WestCumbriaRT
Whilst out and about this summer we have
seen some really cool creepy crawlies and
thought we would include a few in this
month’s ‘what is it?’ Just goes to show what
you can see when you keep your eyes peeled.
1. First up is a fourbanded
longhorn
beetle: Leptura
quadrifasciata
This longhorn beetle
was found whilst
building bird boxes in
Ennerdale, they are
known to have an affinity to birch trees and
will often be found on flowers near birch
trees. They live their larval stage in dead
wood and therefore are rarely seen in their
juvenile form, but as adults they become
pollen feeders and are more often found on
a variety of flowers, especially umbellifers.
2. Second is a pebble
prominent caterpillar:
Notodonta ziczac
This caterpillar
was found whilst
electrofishing on
Black Beck near
Beckermet. When
they feed they stick the tail segment up in
the air, just like this one is. It frequents a
range of habitats, but has a preference for
damper locations. The caterpillars feed on
sallow, willow, aspen and poplar trees. This
caterpillar turns into a beautiful furry moth
– look it up!
3. Last up is a diving beetle
West Cumbria Rivers Trust News